


For The Life Of Me

by melancholymango, Messaline



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, Cheating, Codependency, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, First Time, Getting Together, M/M, Oral Sex, Smut, Strap-Ons, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-12 23:08:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14737529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melancholymango/pseuds/melancholymango, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Messaline/pseuds/Messaline
Summary: Eren dates Mikasa but cheats with Levi. Eventually with the help of Annie, he leaves her. How will Mikasa react?





	For The Life Of Me

Mikasa bit her lip, attempting to juggle the groceries in her arms so she could open the door. As soon as she’d managed it, she walked into the dorm room and unloaded all of the bags onto the table, sweeping the mess off of it in the process. She exhaled heavily, a smile on her face at finally coming home after a long day of classes and errands.

Immediately after locking the door behind herself, she started unpacking everything she’d brought home from the shopping trip. Occasionally, she’d pause to catch her breath and glance longingly over at her boyfriend.

Eren was settled at his desk, eyes glued to his computer screen. The noise-cancelling headphones he always wore while working meant he probably hadn’t even heard her come in. Mikasa rolled her eyes fondly, digging one of his favorite snack foods out of the grocery bag and walking over to him.

She dropped the food offering on his desk, resting her chin on his shoulder and lazily staring at the confusing code that covered the majority of the screen. He’d tried to teach her about it more than once, given what a big part of his life it was, but Mikasa always grew bored. As much as she loved listening to Eren talk about the things he was passionate about, she was more one for hands-on work.

“You didn’t have to get these, you know.” Eren muttered after a long minute, finally acknowledging her presence draped over his back. Even as he complained, he was already reaching for the bag of chips with an eager hand. Mikasa shrugged her shoulders, watching him with a dopey smile as he ate.

“I know, I wanted to.” Mikasa insisted, reaching up to run her fingers through Eren’s hair. He huffed, blushing and attempting to lean out of her reach. “What are your plans for tonight?”

“Working.”

“Think you might be able to finish up early?” Mikasa asked, plopping down onto their shared bed and already planning what they could spend the night doing.

There were a couple new movies that’d come out recently, Eren would probably be able to find them online somewhere. They could go out somewhere together too, it felt like forever since they’d had enough time to do that.

“Mikasa.” Eren sighed, low and pained, filled with regret. Mikasa knew even before he continued that it was a rejection, her own face falling just slightly.

She understood, of course she did, Eren had a purpose and he stopped at nothing to fulfill it. He took his work very seriously, hacking into big unfair corporations online to reveal scandals or take them down from the inside. It was his passion and Mikasa would be a fool to try and pry him away from it, and she didn’t _want to_ either.

She just… wished he had more time for her. “This is important, I need to get it done by midnight for my investors to look over.”

“Alright, I understand.” Mikasa agreed, trying not to let the disappointment show in her words. It wasn’t that big of a deal really, it’d just been a few weeks since they’d had any alone time. It was one of those things neither of them could help. “I can keep myself busy.”

“Thanks for understanding, I appreciate it.” Eren whispered, reaching over to squeeze her knee, giving her thigh a pat.

Mikasa nodded, getting to her feet and looking around their dorm room. It was a bit of a disaster, now that she was looking at it. That was the perfect way to pass the time!

Meanwhile Eren turned back to his work, taking a sip of his drink and cracking his knuckles before diving back into it. His fingers flew across the keys on the keyboard with practiced ease.  He was just getting back to his previous speed when Mikasa’s hand snuck across the desk in front of him, grabbing the empty chip bag and pulling it away.

Eren grit his teeth, attempting to concentrate even as Mikasa continued to pluck piece after piece of garbage from around his workspace. Finally, he reached up and slipped his headphones off, head falling back against the chair and eyes staring toward the ceiling.

“Mikasa, what are you doing?” Eren asked, huffing out the beginnings of a laugh. As exasperated as he was, the wide-eyed and red-handed look Mikasa wore told him everything he needed to know. She wasn’t even aware that what she’d been doing was incredibly distracting.

“Tidying.” Mikasa said, hand slowly creeping back to his desk to grab an empty can. Eren grabbed her hand and squeezed it, his fingers slipping between hers. He gently moved her out of his space, looking up at her with a tired smile.

“Just leave it for now, I’ll get it later.” Eren said, gently dismissing her with a wave of his hand. Mikasa blinked at him, her lips curling into a smirk.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.” Mikasa huffed, reaching over him anyway to grab up the last of the garbage surrounding him. “If I believed you when you said that, it’d _never_ get done.”

“That’s _not_ true.” Eren argued, mostly for the sake of arguing because he knew damn well Mikasa was right. The rare few times she’d left somewhere for longer than a day had resulted in the entire dorm room becoming a disaster area. He was stubborn though, so he held onto the belief that maybe next time would go differently.

“What do you wanna eat tonight?” Mikasa asked, changing the subject before it devolved into a petty argument. Eren shrugged.

“I don’t have any preference, I’ll eat anything. Just make whatever you want.”

“I’ll make your favorite, how about that?” Mikasa responded, looking up at him expectantly. Eren nodded his head noncommittally, uncertain how else to express his indifference. He turned to stare longingly toward his computer, wondering when he’d get a chance to finish things.

“Is this dirty?” Mikasa asked, holding up a shirt she’d found slung over the edge of Eren’s bed. He shook his head immediately, standing up and grabbing it out of her hand.

“No, if it’s not on the floor it’s not dirty.”

“If you just _used the baskets_ , like a _normal_ person, we wouldn’t have to-” Mikasa paused. She watched as Eren gathered his things into his bag, laptop first. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the library to get some work done, I just really need a quiet environment right now.” Eren explained, turning to her and pulling her body against his. Mikasa furrowed her eyebrows together, reluctantly accepting the hug. When he attempted to pull away, she refused to let go.

“I can be quiet.” She grumbled into the collar of his shirt, slightly offended.

“I know you can, but this is just a high-stress job.” Eren explained, patting her on the back. This time when he attempted to leave Mikasa let him, watching with her hands on her hips as he got ready to leave. “I’ll be back in time for dinner.”

“Okay.” Mikasa hummed, grabbing his wrist just before he disappeared through the door. He turned back to her, offering a small apologetic smile. She grinned back at him. “Kiss goodbye?”

Eren nodded, leaning in to peck their lips together. It was over as quickly as it begun, just a barely-there brush of their mouths together. They’d come to an agreement that the passionate make-out sessions of romance movies just weren’t for them, this suited their tastes much better.

“See you later.” Eren told her, hand resting on the door. “Text me if you need anything from the store and I’ll bring it home.”

“Sounds good.” Mikasa muttered, standing on the welcome mat and watching as the door slammed shut behind him. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the kitchen and pulled her sleeves up, getting ready to start cooking. Now she had even more of a reason to try and pass the time.

Suddenly the dorm room felt a lot less homey and a lot more… lonely.

\--

Mikasa woke in the dead of the night, her eyes blinking open and peering suspiciously into the darkness around the room. She was normally such a heavy sleeper, it took a lot to disturb her. So, naturally, she knew there had to be a reason she wasn’t asleep currently.

She sat up, blankets falling around her worn sleep shirt. Distantly, on the other side of the room, she immediately noticed movement in the shadows. She rolled out of bed, prepared to put her years of Kung Fu training to good work and take on the intruder.

Belatedly, as she grabbed the shadow by the wrist, she realized that Eren hadn’t been in the bed next to her when she woke up. Eren who was currently complaining loudly and struggling against her ironclad grip on his arm. She shrugged sheepishly, flicking the light on and turning back to him.

“What are you doing? It’s the middle of the night!”

“I’m sneaking out, obviously!” Eren huffed petulantly, crossing his arms over his chest. Mikasa reached up to rub the sleep from her eyes, groaning to herself. It was way too early (late?) to be awake right now.

“Eren, _where_ are you going?”

“You can’t change my mind, Mikasa.” Eren prefaced conversations with those words often, making sure Mikasa knew exactly where he stood on the matter. He was strong-willed and damn stubborn, it was oftentimes implied without using words that she had little power over his decisions.

She stared blankly at him, unbothered by the blunt words. Eren finally elaborated, glancing impatiently toward the door as he spoke. “I’m going to the college financial office to hack into their computers and prove my theory right that they’re squandering tuition money that’s meant to go to college resources.”

“Fine, but I’m coming with you.” Mikasa responded easily, almost on instinct by this point.

They stared at each other for a long moment, icy stares daring one another to challenge where they stood. Finally, Eren’s passive expression shifted into a deep resigned frown, already knowing this was the only compromise he’d be getting.

“It’s dangerous, if I get caught-”

“No, if _we_ get caught.” Mikasa corrected, slipping her arms into the sleeve of her jacket. Eren stood back, watching as she tied her shoes onto her feet. “I’m not letting you do this alone.”

“Fine.” Eren relented, running a hand through his messy sleep-mussed hair. “You can stand watch in the hallway as I work.”

\--

The administry building became a ghost town after midnight. Breaking into it through a window was easy enough, especially considering Eren had made sure to leave one unlocked when he was in the building during school hours. He pried it open and Mikasa helped lift him inside, her eyes frequently flickering around to check for any witnesses.

After that, making it to the financial office was a breeze. Eren had planned everything meticulously in advance, meaning there was little he hadn’t prepared for or mapped out. They made it inside the office in good time and Eren made himself comfortable behind the desk. Meanwhile, Mikasa stood on the other side of the door, open just enough for Eren to be able to hear her if anything were to happen.

It was a foolproof plan. There was just one thing Eren hadn’t briefed her on and that was the sheer amount of time it’d take for him to hack into the system.

“Eren, it’s been forty minutes, are you _almost_ done?” Mikasa complained, trying and failing to keep her voice quiet. Her patience was dwindling considering the late hour. She wished more than anything that she was back in her comfortable bed rather than standing watch in the middle of an empty college hallway like some kind-of pseudo spy.

“Coding takes time, stop interrupting my work and I‘ll finish sooner.” Eren called back, his voice barely above a whisper. Mikasa poked her head into the room, too bored to go on staring down an empty hallway. Eren noticed her presence immediately, dark eyes narrowing at her. “You’re supposed to be keeping watch anyway, get back out there.”

“It’s 4am, what kind of _lunatic_ would be awake right now other than you?” Mikasa huffed, and no sooner had the words left her mouth than a hand settled on her arm. She screeched, loud enough to echo through the empty rooms.

She whirled around, feet and hands moving in a muscle-memory flurry until the stranger was effectively pinned with his face pressed to the wall. Mikasa was panting from the sudden rush of adrenaline, staring calmly down at the uniform beneath her. He worked here. A financial manager.

“Unless you want to make this a scene, I suggest you take your hands off of me.” The man said passively, not even bothering to struggle against her grip. Mikasa felt torn, eyes glancing toward the crack in the door and wishing she could see Eren. She had no idea what to do in this situation, they hadn’t been expecting anyone to show up.

Deciding that their criminal records didn’t need an assault charge on top of the obvious breaking and entering one, Mikasa gruffly let go of the man and took a step backward. He stood up slowly, stretching his arms and wincing slightly at the already-forming bruises.  Their eyes met and a silent showdown rose between them. The man was a good ten years or so older than her, his eyes dark and unreadable, his hair a choppy undercut.

His indifferent stare gave way to something else then, a hint of shock showing on his features like he couldn’t believe what he was looking at. For a terrifying moment, Mikasa wondered if he recognized her, but then he was rubbing at the wrist she’d had pinned. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

Mikasa didn’t answer, her jaw hanging slightly slack as she carefully debated what she could and couldn’t say in this situation. She was about to offer something up in explanation when Eren blew threw the door, grabbing her wrist as he ran out.

“Mikasa, let’s go!” He shouted, attempting to lead them both to freedom. He made it all of three steps before freezing, turning around slowly. The man had somehow managed to snatch his bag out of his hands, the bag that held his computer and most important belongings.

Eren took a deep breath.

“You’re not going anywhere.” The employee informed them, holding up the bag pointedly. He turned then and walked into the office, leaving them alone in the hallway. They could have ran, it was the perfect opportunity to, but Mikasa didn’t even dare to bring it up. Eren’s whole life was on that computer, they’d certainly find enough information to locate him, possibly even enough to imprison him if they looked into his history of hacking.

So, albeit reluctantly, they both trailed after the employee into the other room. He’d already settled at his desk by the time they joined him, clearly attempting to look for any valuables that might have gone missing. “What were you doing in here? Stealing?”

“We have the right to remain silent.” Eren answered simply, no sign of fear present in his voice. He sounded completely confident, but Mikasa could tell by the way his hand was shaking in hers that he was well-aware of what this looked like for them. A criminal record.

“You sure do, but if you don’t start exercising your right to save your own ass real fast, you’re on the verge of expulsion.” The employee replied calmly, eyes giving Eren an impassive once-over. Eren glared at him, hand curling into a fist. Mikasa was starting to panic now though, eyes widening in fear.

“This could get us expelled?”

“It’s break and entering on school property, of course it can.” A low whistle as he logged onto his computer, noticing the error messages that immediately flooded the screen. “No talkers? Fine, we’ll do things the hard way.”

“He was hacking the computer system!” Mikasa shouted, having made up her mind on exactly where she stood. There would be no backing down now.

“Mikasa!”

“Do you want to get kicked out of school? What would your father say?” Mikasa hissed, turning to Eren with steely eyes. Eren’s father was his only living immediate relative and he’d taken Mikasa in as a teenager after losing her own family. He was always working, constantly, and he’d paid for all of their education and housing requirements.

They couldn’t let him down. Mikasa wouldn’t be able to live with herself if they did.

“Explain to me why you were hacking into the financial office computer if your intention wasn’t to steal money from the school.” The employee deadpanned, eyes flickering to Eren’s now. He’d clearly clued in to who the real mastermind behind this scheme was and he didn’t look like he’d be accepting any more intervention from Mikasa. He wanted Eren to confess.

Eren looked away first. He stared down at the floor, scowling deeply.

“My intention was to prove that _other people_ are stealing money from the school.” Eren explained, looking up through his lashes at the man. “And I did.”

“Sit down and show me what you found.”

“I’m not giving this information over to you, I have a goal and I will stop at nothing to-”

“Show me.” The employee repeated, his voice even. He left no room for argument this time, so Eren begrudgingly stepped forward and leaned over him to the computer. He plugged his flash drive into the computer again, gesturing anticlimactically to the information he’d collected.

As the security guard read over the information, Eren caught a glimpse of his nametag. Levi. “This is a big scandal, you realize that? It’ll be on the news within the week if you let it get out of this room.”

“That’s the goal.” Eren responded easily, playing off the fact he’d just been caught staring. Levi hummed, reaching up to scratch at his chin in thought.

“You’re gonna plaster your face all over the television? Out yourself as a hacker? Good intentions or not, that’s asking to get arrested.”

“I’m not stupid, I’ll submit it to the press anonymously.” Eren answered easily, resisting the urge to scoff at the older man for treating him like he was an idiot. Levi glanced over at him, studying his face critically like he might see more information in the tense line between Eren’s eyebrows. Finally, Levi glanced back to the screen and threw his hands up indifferently.

“You’ve got some real moxie, kid.” Levi admitted, a hint of a smile playing at the very corners of his lips, looking almost miffed. Eren stood taller, instantly swamped with pride for his work. Levi glanced over at him, shaking his head. “Wipe that smirk off your face. You’re still naive for thinking this will change anything in the long-term.”

“Naive?” Eren growled, feeling his temper grow. Levi suited him with a bored look, not at all bothered by the way Eren was looming over his chair. “Sure, throw that word around, it doesn’t bother me. I’d rather be naive and willing to fight for a cause than give up before I even try to change anything.”

“Eren.” Mikasa warned from the sidelines, her voice harsh. Realizing that he was in no position to start a fight, Eren took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, for his father’s sake. For Mikasa.

“Keep talking like you know a damn thing about me, see where it gets you,” Levi said, “I know you’re a lone wolf with a hero complex, but learn when to back down and when to throw fists. I’m not your enemy. I was willing to hear you out, was I not?”

“So you won’t try and stop me?”

“As far as I’m concerned, if you two get your asses out of here right now, then none of this ever happened.” Levi grunted, tapping his fingers against the desk. He looked between them, the disbelieving looks on their faces. He exhaled slowly, realizing they weren’t going to make this easy on him and just take off running at the first opportunity. “Don’t let me catch you here again, capiche? I don’t care how noble your intentions are, it’s still illegal.”

“Okay.” Eren and Mikasa answered at the same time. Mikasa eagerly turned toward the door and started out of it, confident that Eren would be following closely behind her upon being given the chance to escape. He wasn’t though, no telltale footsteps scuffing the floor. She turned back in confusion, to where Eren was hesitantly trailing after her.

Levi took note of the way the other man hesitated.

“One last thing?” Levi called out, sounding contemplative. Eren turned back instantly. “If you want me to clear the footage on these security cameras to cover for your sorry ass, that’ll cost you. I don’t aid criminals for free.”

“You want my money?”

“No, I want your time.” Levi elaborated, waiting for just a moment as he debated if this was really such a good idea. The kid had some serious talent, but he was also clearly a work-in-progress. His head and heart seemed to be in the right place though. “Come see me in the IT room during the day, you’ll work off your debt to me and learn a thing or two about respect for authority along the way.”

“Right, ‘cause you seem like you have so much respect for authority to spare.” Eren scoffed, like he’d been just waiting on the chance to reply one more witty thing. Maybe that’s why he was being so slow to leave, desperate to get the last word in. “You’re impressed by my skills and you want me on your team, you can say it.”

“Eren!” Mikasa scolded loudly, poking her head back into the room from where she’d already disappeared ahead into the hallway. Eren ignored her, eyes glinting with a challenge just for Levi.

To annoy him, Levi completely dismissed the quip.

“Get home before you make me think twice about what I’m doing for you.”

\--

Weeks passed by since that fateful night and for the most part, Mikasa put it behind her without any trouble. She assumed they did the right thing, that they were out of the woods now. Eren had started working for Levi much to his annoyance, but as the days passed by he slowly became more eager to go, presumably because he was learning new things. Mikasa was happy to see him getting along with his boss better.

In fact, though Eren would never admit it, Mikasa believed they were starting to become quite good friends. More often than not Eren was staying late after work, something he’d never agree to do if he didn’t actively want to.

Each afternoon Mikasa would come back from her classes on a break just before Eren left, giving her enough time to make him a lunch for work and see him off. It was a routine that was working well for them. Eren even seemed more talkative and happy lately, each night when he came home from work he’d have all kinds of stories to tell. It all felt painstakingly domestic and Mikasa couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this is what their future looked like, once they were finally out of uni.

This was one of such afternoons, she’d just watched Eren leave for work not even fifteen minutes ago and was about to leave for her next class when she spotted something out of place on the table. She picked up Eren’s phone was a soft groan, knowing how out of sorts he’d feel without it. She’d have to run it to him in the IT room and be late for her next class.

She picked it up, curiosity piqued upon seeing the three missed texts displayed on the homescreen. She knew Eren’s password, so she easily unlocked it and checked who they were from. Levi.

**_To: Eren. Sent: 4:05pm_ **

_“You’re late. Don’t keep me waiting too long.”_

**_To Eren. Sent: 4:08pm_ **

_“We’re not gonna have any time to eat if you don’t hurry up, the movie starts in twenty.”_

**_To: Eren. Sent: 4:10pm_ **

_“Is Mikasa holding you up again? Just pull the angry boss card, she’d let you leave if she thinks you’re gonna get in trouble with me.”_

Mikasa frowned to herself in confusion, deciding to scroll up in their past texts and get a better idea for what was going on. As she scrolled, the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. The blatant flirting, the suggestive emojis, even the texts sent in the late hours of the night outright asking Eren to sneak out and see him. There was something going on between them.

Having known Eren most of her life, Mikasa didn’t want to believe it. She knew him, she knew he wasn’t the type to sneak around behind someone’s back. This wasn’t like him at all.

Her resolve set, she marched off toward the IT room under the pretense of delivering his phone, when in reality she wanted answers. She ran most of the way there, determined to catch them before they left for the movie, assuming they even met there in the first place.

Luckily, when she got there the door was unlocked, meaning someone was inside. She approached with confidence, determined to bust into the room like one of those dramatic confrontations in the movies. She wasn’t going to be indirect about this, she needed to know what was going on.

Mikasa pushed the door open, opening her mouth to announce her presence to the room. Against all odds, she found herself hesitating after all, biting down on her tongue forcefully.

There, in Levi’s computer chair, Eren sat in the older man’s lap.

They were _kissing._

Watching on in silent horror, Mikasa brought her hand up to cover her mouth in shock. With each wet noise of mouth on mouth, every smile Eren pressed into the embrace, every second that passed by… she felt a part of herself shattering. Everything she believed she knew about Eren, about their relationship, suddenly hung in the balance. Mikasa felt it in her chest like a physical loss.

\--

Mikasa waited up that night. She didn’t bother going to sleep when she received texts from Eren via Levi’s number, assuring her he was working late and wouldn’t be home until after midnight. Instead she sat at the kitchen table, eyes glued to the front door as she waited for him to walk through it. Her nails tapped against the surface, breaths drawn short and harsh.

Her face stayed blank, emotions inside of her chest too wayward to possibly try to express. She was having difficulty deciding how to feel, how to process the fact that her closest and most trusted friend, her lover, was lying to her so blatantly. Eren was better than this, she wanted so desperately to believe it was all just a misunderstanding.

More than anything else, she was afraid. She wasn't sure what would become of them after this conversation, but the very real threat hung over her head that he might not take it well. It might not be a misunderstanding. Eren might take one look at her and leave again, running back to Levi for good. What if Eren chose him?

She didn't know Levi all that well, but from what she'd seen of him and what Eren had told her... she could be sure he wasn't the right person for Eren. Levi was cold, blunt, sometimes even cruel. He was all sharp edges and dark eyes, void of any sense of compassion. He couldn't possibly offer Eren what he needed.

It was half past midnight when she watched the lock turn, the telltale jingle of keys on the other side of the door. She narrowed her eyes, watching as her boyfriend snuck into the room as quietly as he could. She grit her teeth, hands curling into fists in her lap.

Eren kicked his shoes off and hung his coat up, turning on his heel to creep toward the bed. He froze when he saw Mikasa though, sitting alone in the dark kitchen, illuminated only by the moonlight. He lifted his hand in an awkward wave.

“Mikasa, what are you doing up?” Eren asked, tilting his head to the side in question. "Is everything okay?"

"You tell me."

"What's that supposed to mean? Stop being vague."

“I saw you.” Mikasa bit out,the words so emotionally charged she didn't even have to elaborate on what she meant. She could tell by the way Eren's eyes widened that he knew. Still, she wanted to, wanted to see his reaction when she said it out loud and forced him to process it. “I saw you with Levi.”

“It’s not what you think, we were just-”

“I saw you kissing, Eren!” Mikasa snapped, raising her voice unintentionally. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. It was unlike her to let her emotions get the better of her, but the thought of losing Eren over something like this was making it difficult for her to even think straight. “Don’t treat me like a fool.”

“I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you-”

“Do you love him? Are you gonna leave me for him?” Mikasa asked, urgency seeping into her words that she couldn't possibly hold back. She blinked rapidly, attempting to hold back tears she absolutely refused to let spill over.

“No.” Eren breathed, sounding shocked by whatever he saw on her face. “No, Mikasa, I would never do that.”

“Then why?!”

“I’m just… confused.” Eren mumbled, rubbing his hands over his face. “I don’t know what I want right now, but I know leaving you isn’t the answer.”

“Has Levi been pressuring you into this? Is it his fault?”

“He isn’t pressuring me, I’m capable of making my own decisions, you know.” Eren growled defensively, not taking kindly to the accusation in Mikasa's tone. He crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s not taking advantage of me, I’m not some stupid kid. I’m just not sure what I need right now so I’m… weighing my options.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re not sure what you need?” Mikasa laughed, a bitter humorless noise. “Eren, I take care of you. I cook for you, keep the dorm clean for you, buy the groceries, pay the bills, handle all the finances, what else could he possibly offer you? I’m what you need.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If you need something more just tell me, I can be what you need.” Mikasa’s voice was pleading, desperate to know what she needed to do. Eren averted his eyes, staring down at the floor tiles.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean it.” Mikasa sighed, the anger leaving her voice in one long exhale. He nodded in agreement, uncertain how else to approach this situation. “You’re just… confused.”

“Yes.” Eren agreed eagerly, deciding that that was his story and he would be sticking to it from now on if it meant he didn’t have to face the hard decisions.

“It’s Levi’s fault for even putting the idea into your head. We were fine before he came along.” Mikasa muttered, getting to her feet. She looked beyond tired, aged beyond her years. She started toward the bed, but looked back at Eren expectantly. “Right?”

“Right.”

“Come to bed, we’ll deal with this tomorrow.” Mikasa said, her voice tight. Eren didn’t even say anything in response, just obediently crossed the room and climbed into bed with his clothes still on. Mikasa slid into the place next to him. She didn’t hesitate to cuddle into him like she normally would have, eyes squeezed so tightly shut she was seeing flickers of color behind her eyelids.

She didn’t want to look at him right now. Didn’t want to address the situation for what it was. She wanted to close her eyes and just pretend tonight was a night like any other.

\--

Eren wasn’t entirely sure how he got himself into this situation, in retrospect. It was the last thing on Earth he expected to get caught up in the middle of, yet here he was. A cheater. He’d messed around behind Mikasa’s back more than once and despite knowing what a terrible thing it was to do, it hadn’t stopped him any.

There was just something about Levi, an unbridled passion that was beyond anything he’d ever felt for Mikasa. He loved her. God, he loved her. He just wasn’t so sure it was in the same way she loved him.

Their relationship had been failing from the start, the sexual chemistry was non-existent, they were lucky to sleep together once every couple of months. For a long time, Levi had thought it was normal, but then he’d begun to blame himself, blame her, blame anyone and anything at all. It didn’t make sense to him, how he could care so much about a person and the spark just not be present.

Then he’d met Levi and the attraction was immediate, the spark blinding, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Sure, he wasn’t proud of what he’d done, but he also wasn’t sure he regretted it. He’d never felt like this for Mikasa, not for anyone. Who would he be if he had the chance to feel like this and turned it away?

It could be argued that he could have pursued those feelings after informing Mikasa and gently breaking up with her, but he couldn’t do that. For as dependent on her as he was for the physical things, she wouldn’t survive a day without him around emotionally. She was unhealthily dependent on him. Even though she had a few friends to turn to, she didn’t idolize and prioritize any of them like she did Eren.

She’d been obsessed with him since the day they met, when his parents took her in. It was annoying at best, stifling and suffocating at worst. Even if he wanted to look after himself, she never would have let him. She insisted on smothering him because she didn’t know how else to show her affection and gratitude.

So he couldn’t leave her.

But he couldn’t give up what he had with Levi either.

That was what led him to this point. A week had passed since the night Mikasa confronted him and they hadn’t talked about it directly since. She seemed content to ignore it on the surface, but he wasn’t stupid. He saw the hatred and bitterness that crossed her face whenever Levi was mentioned. He noticed that she now tagged along with him when he left for work, only leaving a good ten minutes into his shift or more after he begged her to.

She was clingier than ever, she’d sunk her nails in and was refusing to let go. She was desperate to keep him around, to stake her claim and keep it. Levi had commented on it more than once now, calling her pathetic. Levi had no sympathy for her whatsoever, he often prompted Eren to leave her outright. Eren couldn’t do that.

So he turned to a third party, one with no involvement that didn’t know Levi or Mikasa well-enough to have strong opinions.

“I fail to see the issue here.” Annie spoke in a deadpan, one short blunt sentence in comparison to the ten minutes Eren had rambled on trying to explain the situation. He looked at her in exasperation. She shrugged, taking a bite of her sandwich. “Look, I’m sorry, but if Mikasa isn’t making you happy why bother staying with her? If anything she’s holding you back and doesn’t care that she is. You’d be better off without her.”

“It’s more complicated than that, Annie.” Eren groaned, frustrated with himself for not expecting as much from his friend.

Eren and Annie met in their shared boxing club. She was the leading female of the team, possibly the best fighter overall. It was often that Eren was the first to approach someone in hopes of befriending them, but he admired Annie’s skill too much not to try and get closer to her. She brushed him off relentlessly, to the point that it almost became an ongoing joke between them.

Eventually, somewhere between the rejections, they’d started hanging out together outside of boxing club. She finally agreed to teach him, but oftentimes still cancelled on him last minute when they had plans, but today she’d shown up when he needed her to and that would have to be enough. She was blunt and to the point, always, and that was exactly what he needed right now.

“Is it?” Annie challenged, an eyebrow quirking. “I think you’re the one complicating things. It’s literally as simple as choosing which one gives you more fulfillment and dropping the other one. There’s no shame in pursuing your happiness.”

Eren looked down at his lap, sighing in resignation.

“It’ll _crush_ Mikasa if I leave her, you know that.”

“So? It’ll crush you to stay in an unfulfilling relationship indefinitely.” Annie huffed, rolling her eyes at him like he was being entirely too dramatic about it. “Levi is a straight-talk all-business kinda guy, eventually he’s gonna get tired of you being all wishy-washy about this. You’ll lose him because of Mikasa, you’ll resent her for it and leave her, and then you’ll be alone with _nothing_ to show for it.”

“I feel like that’s the _worst_ case scenario.”

“No, that’s exactly what’s going to happen if you don’t make up your mind.” Annie said, with such finality that Eren had difficulty not believing her at least a little bit. He stared down at his food, appetite long gone. Annie finished off her meal and stood up, looking around pointedly. “Is your dorm near here?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I’m coming over.” Annie announced plainly, tossing her garbage into the bin. Eren mirrored her, tossing out the lunch that Mikasa had meticulously made for him that morning. “I needa take a piss and I’d rather die than use the public restrooms on campus. I’m pretty sure there’s a glory hole in the last stall.”

“Gross.” Eren snorted, running a hand through his hair. He glanced in the direction of his building, fretting over it for just a moment. It wasn’t like him to worry about appearances, but Mikasa had been a bit… eccentric, lately. She was impossibly clingy and protective, he wasn’t sure how she’d react to a new person in their environment.

Annie was hardly the type of person you could say no to, though. “Okay, you can come over. Just be aware that Mikasa should be home right now and lately she’s been a little-”

“Paranoid? Controlling? Psychotic? Obsessive?”

“Clingy.” Eren corrected pointedly, offering a quiet stressed chuckle. “I was _going to say_ clingy.”

“Fair enough, but you can’t deny all the things I suggested either.”

Eren couldn’t deny that, so he stayed purposely silent. They didn’t talk for the rest of the walk back to his dorm room. His head was in another place, filled with faraway thoughts.

When they reached his dorm, Eren was very careful about the way he approached the situation. He turned the key in the lock, slowly urging the door open despite Annie pressuring him to “hurry the hell up already”.

He stepped into the room, purposely blocking Annie from view on the other side of the door.

“Mikasa? Are you home?” He called out, though he could clearly see her standing in the kitchen. She perked up at the sound of his voice, spinning around to grin widely at him.

“Eren!” She greeted warmly, turning to pick something up off the table. She hurried over to him then, meeting him at the door with a steaming homemade pie in her arms. Eren offered a fake smile. She didn’t seem to be able to tell the difference, or perhaps didn’t want to. “Welcome home. I made pie.”

“Oh.” Eren gulped, nodding at the pie in her oven mitt-clad hands. It wasn’t like he could take it from her when it was clearly so hot, what the hell did she want him to do with it?! “Er, thank-you?”

Mikasa’s grin widened impossibly and she turned around, moving to place the pie back on the cooling rack. Meanwhile Eren stepped into the threshold, unsurprised when Annie’s patience finally expired and she pushed her way in after him.

“Who’s that?” Mikasa asked immediately, eyes narrowing.

“This is Annie, she’s a friend from boxing. You’ve seen her there a couple times when you dropped me off or picked me up before going to your Kung Fu club.” Mikasa’s glare didn’t waver. “She’s _just_ a friend. She wants to use our washroom and then she’ll be on her way.”

“Okay.” Mikasa mouthed, but the expression on her face said anything but. Eren’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he paced over to the table, sliding down into a seat. He pointed toward the washroom and Annie was quick to disappear into it.

Now, as far as Annie was concerned, none of this was any of her business. She would have been content to never know about Levi’s personal life, to never meet that annoying woman out there in the kitchen with him, and to never sit in their sub-par dorm bathroom. It just wasn’t where she wanted to be during her Tuesday afternoon lunch break.

But, against her wishes, this was where she just so happened to be. She was sitting on a mostly-clean toilet listening to the quiet bickering coming from the other room, no doubt directly caused by her very presence. It was beyond clear she was unwelcome here, that Mikasa chick looked about ready to gut her for daring to set foot in her home.

It was Eren’s home too, though. It seemed unfair that what he wanted was so unimportant.

Actually, if she was being honest, everything about this situation seemed unfair.

She was going to be a good girl though, keep her nose out of places where it didn’t belong. They could solve their problems on their own. It wasn’t her place to speak up, she just had to take a deep breath and trust that Eren would eventually work up the courage to do the right thing for himself.

Annie left the bathroom and headed straight for the front door, ready to put the whole awkward experience behind herself.

“Alright, thanks for everything.” She grunted in acknowledgement, hand already resting on the doorknob and ready to go. “I’m gonna go.”

“You sure? You don’t wanna stay for pie?” Eren asked, sounding almost hopeful. Annie’s grip on the knob tightened, a fear rising in her chest that she might underestimate her strength and break it. As much as she wanted to help Eren out, this was a him problem.

She was just about to kindly reject his offer, when that manipulative bitch next to him had to open her big mouth again.

“I didn’t make it for _her_ , Eren.” Mikasa whispered, loud enough that Annie suspected she might have been meant to hear it. Mikasa leaned in, pressing a kiss to Eren’s cheek, eyelashes fluttering coyly in a way that was so obviously intentional it hurt. “I made it for _you_.”

“Gag.” Annie blurted, the word crawling its way up her throat before she could stop herself. She bit her tongue afterward, but by that point it was too late. Mikasa had whipped her head in Annie’s direction, her eyes blazing with fiery anger.

For a brief moment, Annie was scared for her well-being, before remembering that she was a boxing expert and could definitely take this girl if it came down to that. So she shrugged nonchalantly, the picture of casual. “Oops, did I say that out loud?”

“What are you even still doing here? I thought you were leaving.”

“Oh, one of us is _definitely_ gonna be leaving.” Annie growled, stalking toward the table. Mikasa’s expression was really starting to piss her off. She seemed so aloof and confident, like she had no qualms whatsoever about challenging her. That weirdo was about to realize that it paid to be afraid of Annie Leonhart.

“Annie, stop.” Eren snapped, his tone final. Annie froze in place. There weren’t many people that she would let tell her what to do, but ultimately this wasn’t her place. She had to keep reminding herself of that. This was Eren’s life and well-being at stake.

“Stop what?” Mikasa stood, placing her hands on her hips. “Is this some kinda joke to you? Are you a friend of Levi’s? Here to mock me?”

“Oh my god, you make it sound like the whole world is conspiring against you.” Annie snorted, almost amused by the steadily growing anger in Mikasa’s tone. At least it meant that psycho actually felt something from time to time. “I’ve been here three minutes and that’s _all it took_ for me to realize how unhealthily dependent and needy you are. I’m not here to mock you, I’m here to help Eren get away from you.”

“Get out!” Mikasa yelled, charging toward Annie. Eren was on his feet in an instant, standing his ground between them and attempting to hold Mikasa back. Annie stood there impassively, deciding the ultimate power move was to not even attempt to fight back. She could fight with her words, by saying the things Eren was clearly too chicken to ever say himself.

“No, _you_ get out. Leave Eren alone, let him breathe on his own for once in his life.” Annie snapped, her tone cold and harsh. She set her icy gaze on Mikasa, watching as the other girl slowly stopped struggling against Eren’s hold to just glare back at her. “You’re a burden on his life and you’re holding him back. He doesn’t _want_ you.”

“Eren _loves_ me.”

“You’re delusional if you believe whatever this is is anything other than one-sided.” Annie said plainly, lifting her chin into the air. She refused to back down on this, even if Eren were to tell her to now. He wasn’t though, he wasn’t saying a word. He seemed shocked into silence in the face of the confrontation he’d been avoiding.

Annie stepped closer, placing a hand on Eren’s shoulder just to get a rise out of the girl in his arms. “If he loved you, if you were enough for him, then he wouldn’t feel the need to be with Levi.”

“Eren.” Mikasa breathed, clearly trying to calm herself. “ _Tell her you love me_.”

“I do!” Eren shouted, but then he fell abruptly silent. Annie was looking at him with disappointment heavy in her gaze, he could feel it weighing down on him. Though he wasn’t lying, it was clear to all of them at this point he wasn’t telling his whole truth.

He looked back to Mikasa, who had slowly squirmed out of his grip. She looked tentative, cautious like she knew what was coming even before Eren opened his mouth to break the news to her officially. It hurt him to do this. “I do love you… just not in the same way you love me.”

“So what? You’re choosing Levi?” Mikasa asked, her voice straightforward, giving Eren absolutely no room to try and dodge the question. The emotion had drained from most of her features, her expression slack. Other than the anger and hurt burning in her eyes, it was impossible to tell she was feeling much of anything at all.

“I-It’s not a choice, there was never a competition.” Eren stuttered out, reaching for Mikasa. She stumbled backward, away from his outstretched hand. “The way I feel about you two isn’t even remotely similar.”

“You heard him.” Annie chimed in, crossing her arms over her chest. “Get out.”

“I didn’t-” Eren tried to explain, desperate to make Mikasa understand. He didn’t want her to leave, he just didn’t want _her like_ that. He wasn’t sure he ever had. Their entire romantic history had been built on convenience rather than chemistry.

Mikasa was already gone, though. She grabbed her purse and her jacket and stormed out of their dorm room, long dark hair whirling in the gust of wind the slamming door offered. Eren stared after her, feeling oddly incomplete without her around.

He crumpled, falling into his chair from before with a broken sigh. “Annie. I didn’t want it to end _like this_.”

“You need to cut her off cold-turkey or you’ll never get away from her.” Annie insisted, sitting in one of the kitchen chairs. Eren looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown and as much as she didn’t have the time nor desire to help out with that, she felt the slightest bit obligated. She had just called the shots for a massive part of his life and future. She owed her comfort to him.

Not that she was even sure how to comfort another person, it wasn’t the type of thing she normally bothered herself with.

\--

That night, Mikasa didn’t return to her dorm until nearly midnight, despite her early morning classes the next day. It was unlike her to stay out so late, but the thought of what awaited her back at the dorm room was just enough to outweigh her studious nature. She didn’t want to come home to Eren after the things he’d admitted to. Their dynamic had been unchanging for so long, she wouldn’t even know how to look at him now.

It was only a matter of time before she had no choice but to go back home, though. Once she caught herself nearly falling asleep on a park bench, hugging her knees to her chest and trying in vain to hold back tears, she decided that it was about time to go back. Even if it was only to curl up in her own bed and put off addressing it for another day.

The entire trip back consisted of Mikasa dreading what she would say to Eren when she walked through the door and saw him again. In all of her fixating, she didn’t once stop to think that maybe she’d come back to an empty dorm room.

He was gone. Just gone. There was no sign of him, no note telling her where he’d gone, no text informing her when he’d be back. Mikasa had made a habit of always knowing where Eren was and looking out for him, and now she had nothing to go on and no right to know anyway.

She fell into an uneasy sleep that night.

\--

The next week passed by in a blur, one that Mikasa was both aware of and oblivious to both at the same time. She spent all of her time dwelling on where Eren was, if he was okay, if things would ever be able to go back to how they were.

He was coming back to their dorm room to get his things and eat occasionally, but only ever while he knew Mikasa would be out. Mikasa could tell because she came home to his messes still, to dishes piled in the sink and dirty clothes in his hamper for her to wash. It was like living with a ghost.

She only saw him once over the course of those first seven days, she came back home early from classes with the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well, only to find Eren in their dorm gathering things he hadn’t thought to take with him on the night he left.

Their eyes met for a split second and then he was rushing out of the dorm before either of them could speak a word.

On the eighth day after Eren left, Mikasa finally dragged herself out to socialize with someone before she went insane in her own depressing company. She went over to Armin’s place, a quaint little homey apartment that always made her feel better. As a mutual friend of both her and Eren, she figured Armin might have something to offer in the way of advice as well.

“So, you haven’t heard from him?”

“Who? Eren?” Armin asked, from where he was attempting to maneuver a block onto the top of their Jenga tower without sending it toppling over. Once he’d successfully left the block, he turned to Mikasa and shook his head. “Not really, I did run into him at the grocery store once. He was out with that Levi guy you told me about, seemed right enraptured with him. He seemed alright, you know. You don’t need to worry about him so much.”

“I know, but-”

“I know, it’s different with Eren. You worry more about his well-being than your own.” Armin settled a hand on Mikasa’s shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. “I’m just saying that I think he’s… happy. You’re clearly not so maybe that’s what you should be focusing on right now.”

“I don’t know how to be happy without him.”

“Mikasa, don’t be dramatic.”

“I’m serious! I don’t even know who I was before he came into my life. He’s my whole world.” Mikasa said plainly, like she wasn’t aware of the weight behind the words. Armin’s breath caught, a sympathetic frown on his lips in the seconds following.

“What if I try to talk to him?”

“And say what? It’s clear he doesn’t want me.”

“No, but maybe I can convince him to talk to you and find out a way to stay in your life that works for both of you. Maybe you can’t have him in the way you want to, but wouldn’t it be better to have him as a friend?”

“Yes.” Mikasa said, not a shadow of doubt showing in her voice. At this point she just wanted Eren back in her life, at any cost. She could live with losing a boyfriend or even a friend, but losing Eren was something unlike either of those things.

\--

Armin wasn’t one for confrontation normally, but he could see the way Mikasa was suffering. Of course she put on a tough act, insisted she was handling it okay whenever Armin offered to come over and help her manage the house. The only weakness she allowed herself to show was just how very badly she missed Eren and how she worried for him.

Armin knew he had to do something to fix that, that if it was bad enough for Mikasa to actually speak up then it had to be devastating to her.

So he texted Eren and asked to see him that night after Mikasa had left his apartment. They made plans to meet up at a nearby cafe. Armin arrived first and he waited by the door, building up his resolve to say all that needed to be said.

When Eren eventually got there, it was unexpectedly with someone else in tow. Annie was walking next to Eren looking generally indifferent and tired. When they reached Armin, Eren stayed to speak with him outside, and Annie disappeared into the cafe with a simple nod of greeting in his direction.

“Eren, we need to talk about Mikasa.” Armin blurted it out the moment the two of them were alone.

“What about her?” Eren asked, crossing his arms over his chest. His body language screamed defensive and for a brief moment Armin wondered if he should really go through with this, but he ignored that small uncertain voice and stood his ground.

“Do you have any idea how badly you’re hurting her right now? Do you even _care_?”

“Of course I care.” Eren snapped, anger flashing in his eyes. Armin flinched backward and regret immediately fell across Eren’s features. He took a deep breath, running his hands through his short hair and sighing. “I can’t go back to her, Armin. I’m happier this way. Levi makes me happy. Do I not deserve to be happy?”

“Everyone deserves to be happy.” Armin amended, nodding his head. “I’m not telling you to go back to how things were before, but you can’t just leave her behind. You need to talk to her, explain what’s going on and give her some time to adjust. Or, hell, just give her some straightforward closure. Anything other than running away like you are right now.”

“What am I supposed to tell her?”

“For starters, tell her why things weren’t working before, but also tell her why they are now.” Armin said carefully, talking with his hands. Eren nodded knowingly, looking like he was actually admitting the advice to heart. “All she wants is for you to be happy, that’s all she’s ever wanted from you. If she believes you’re truly better off this way, it’ll be a lot easier on her.”

“You’re right.” Eren agreed, looking down at his feet. “I know you’re right, I’m just a coward.”

“I’ve never heard you call yourself that before.”

“It’s different with Mikasa,” Eren started, letting out a frustrated huff when the right words didn’t automatically come to him, “she’s like family to me. I can’t afford to mess this up any worse than I already have.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure this is as bad as it gets.” Armin chuckled, trying to lighten the heavy mood between them.

“I’ll go see her.” Eren said decisively, offering up a thin thankful smile. Armin grinned back at him.

“Now?”

“Now.” Eren agreed. He looked toward the cafe beside them, staring in through the windows to where Annie was currently being given her order. “Tell Annie where I went and that I’m sorry for walking out on her, would you?”

“Yeah, of course.” Armin said, waving Eren off as he turned to leave. He disappeared down the sidewalk, rushing back toward the school grounds. Watching his retreating back, Armin didn’t catch up to the moment until he heard the ding of the bell behind him that signaled a customer leaving or entering the coffee shop.

He turned, immediately paling upon seeing the scowl on Annie’s face.

“What did you just encourage him to do?” Annie snapped, grip tightening around the two coffees in her hands. Armin’s face fell. He’d known Annie for a while, though they’d never been particularly close friends or in the same friend circles, they’d always had a mutual respect for each other. He’d seen her mad though, seen the way she fumed and blew up. He’d never wanted to be on the receiving end of that treatment.

“He’s going to talk to Mikasa.”

“Why?!” Annie demanded to know, stepping closer as if she thought Armin might attempt to run away.

“To give them both some closure. They need it.” Armin insisted. He had no intentions of running away or backing down. He was confident that what he was doing was the right thing for everyone.

“ _She_ needs it. Eren doesn’t need anything, this is the happiest he’s ever been.”

“Obviously it’s bothering him if he’s this willing to go fix it.”

“Of course it is, ripping off a band-aid isn’t fun but it allows the skin underneath to heal faster. He’ll move on from her soon enough, this is only going to prolong things.” Annie grumbled, treating Armin like he was being utterly childish for believing they could work this out. He didn’t like being talked to like a child, just because he was optimistic didn’t mean he was stupid.

“He doesn’t have to _move on_ from her, they’re best friends. They should work it out like adults.”

“Best friends.” Annie repeated, her tone undoubtedly mocking. Armin stiffened. “All Mikasa has ever offered to his life is a barrier holding him back from where he wants to be. She’s controlling and obsessive, it isn’t healthy.”

“Of course it isn’t healthy! That doesn’t mean we need to gang up against her and leave her all alone, it means she needs help getting past that.” Armin argued, his voice raising. It wasn’t often he let things bother him like this, but he’d known Mikasa for long enough that he’d rather die than stand-by and listen to someone openly trashing her. “You don’t even _know_ her.”

“What excuse could she possibly have for treating a grown man like a child? Other than wanting to control him?” Annie deadpanned, even going so far as to roll her eyes.

“She doesn’t want to control him, she wants to _protect_ him.”

“From what? _She’s_ the biggest threat in his life.” It was the amount of indifference she spoke with that tested Armin’s patience and breached his limits. The way Annie spoke like she didn’t care, didn’t care to know and didn’t care how bad Mikasa had it, it was not her problem. If she really cared about Eren and wanted him to be happy like she was claiming, then it was about time someone taught her why she was acting like a total idiot by trying to rip those two apart.

Armin reached out and snagged one of the coffees from Annie’s hold, assuming it’d been for Eren in the first place. He took a sip, ignoring Annie’s flabbergasted face.

“Mikasa’s parents were both murdered, you know.” Armin muttered darkly, casting his gaze over at Annie expectantly. He watched as the information hit her, as it sunk in, her expression falling from something offensive into something uncertain. “It happened in front of her. She barely managed to escape with her own life because the murderer set her family home on fire to cover his tracks. She was helpless, she had to watch everything she loved go up in flames as a child. Do you have any idea what that does to a person? How hard it is to live with that memory?”

“I mean, I’m sure it sucks but that’s no excuse to hurt-” Annie started to say, though her heart wasn’t in it. The words held none of the usual confidence and bluntness that she was so known for. They wavered, obviously unsure in what she was saying. She was starting to see the error in her ways.

“Eren’s parents took her in after the fire. His father was never fully in the picture, he was always away with work. His mother took care of them for the first year after Mikasa was taken into their care, but then she passed away from an illness. It was just Mikasa and Eren through all of their teenage years. Eren was the only good thing she ever managed to keep.” Armin explained, curling his fist tighter around his coffee cop at the thought. Mikasa had such a rough past, the after-effects and the trauma of it all still weighed heavy on her chest whether she realized it or not.

Annie had no right to talk down to her. Mikasa was stronger than she’d ever be.

When he looked up again, he could see the regret written across all of Annie’s features. She looked almost pained, like she hadn’t wanted to be faced with the realization that things were more than they seemed. Armin sighed, the fight draining from his body. “Of course she clings to him and protects him, what would she have _without_ him?”

“I didn’t know.” Annie spoke quietly, eyes glazed over and distant as she mulled over the new information.

“Now you do.” Armin concluded, taking a long sip from his cup and then depositing it into the nearby trash can. He turned back to Annie as he moved to leave, finding her still frozen in the same spot. “I’m not telling you to like her, but cut her some slack. She’s been through things worse than you could dream up.”

\--

Mikasa wasn’t expecting Eren to stop by that night. She was in the middle of doing laundry, half-asleep on the couch as she waited for the next load to finish going through the washer, when the key turned in the lock. She was awake in an instant, staring wide-eyed and hopeful toward the door.

The moment Eren walked into the dorm she was greeting him with a huge and a slew of apologies, so hysteric she wasn’t even sure what she was apologizing for exactly.

He managed to calm her down eventually, shushing her until they could both settle on the couch and talk properly. Eren explained to her how their romantic relationship had never really been fulfilling for either of them, how it was more out of convenience than passion. None of it was entirely new information to Mikasa, she’d been aware of it the entire time. It just made more sense not to address it. She didn’t want to jinx what she had.

Eren told her about why that wasn’t a healthy way of thinking, how they’d only ever been settling for second best by being with each other. This was leeway into the topic of Levi. Immediately Mikasa tried to shut him down but he was insistent, until finally she listened to him talk about his feelings. He told her about how well they worked together, how fun it was being with someone new, how exciting it all was.

But what he didn’t tell her, what she read between the lines, was how _happy_ he was.

As lonely as she felt and as much as she longed for how things used to be, she couldn’t ignore the smile on his face when he talked about Levi. He hadn’t smiled like that for her for a long time.

\--

After her talk with Eren, things got a little bit easier to manage. In reality, her workload hadn’t changed any, but it just seemed easier to bear now that she was back in contact with Eren. He still spent most of his time at Levi’s, but occasionally he’d come over to hang-out and they were back to talking over text, so it was a world of improvement to her.

When Mikasa ate lunch alone that next day, it felt less like crippling loneliness when she could just look to her phone and talk to Eren there. Sure, it wasn’t nearly the same as having him next to her and chatting that way, but it was something. It was something and she’d cling to it with all she had.

She was halfway through eating her meal and was getting ready to go to her Kung Fu meeting when someone slid into the seat next to her. She turned, expecting to see Armin asking her for updates on how the talk with Eren went. Instead she found herself face-to-face with Annie.

Memories of their altercation came crashing back to her and she nearly choked on her food. This woman really had a lot of guts walking up to her during her alone time and sitting next to her. Surely she wanted to start a fight? There was no other reason for her being here.

Mikasa didn’t particularly feel like getting into a fight today, so she packed her lunch away without a word and got to her feet.

“Wait!” Annie called after her, reaching out to grab her sleeve. Mikasa paused, looked down at the hand gripping her sleeve, and promptly tore her hand out of the girl’s grip with just enough force to make sure she’d get free. Then she was leaving, feet carrying her away as quickly as possible.

Annie simply followed after her though, effortlessly keeping pace with Mikasa’s fast steps. Despite the determined way she was staring straight ahead, Annie repeatedly leaned into Mikasa’s line of view. She was growing increasingly impatient, meanwhile Mikasa found herself getting annoyed. “ _Hello_? I want to talk to you.”

“I _don’t_ want to talk to you. I thought I made that much clear.” Mikasa snapped, her voice short.

“Will you please just hear me out?” Annie nagged on, refusing to leave. “I want to apologize!”

“Apologize?” Mikasa froze, turning back to the other girl. That was the last thing she’d expected to come of this. Annie looked visibly out of her element, but she nodded anyway.

“I said some awful things to you that day, Mikasa. I’ve since learnt more about your situation and your relationship with Eren, but my ignorance was no excuse for how I acted.” Annie explained, hanging her head low. Mikasa furrowed her eyebrows together. “Apologies don’t come naturally to me, but I needed to get this off my chest. I can leave now if you’d like.”

“What did he tell you?”

“Huh?”

“What did Eren tell you about our relationship?”

“Actually, Armin-”

“Damn it.” Mikasa interrupted, a knowing groan leaving her lips. This wasn’t the first time Armin had cracked and told someone about her tragic backstory. “I’m not weak, you know. I’m not some damsel in distress like he’d have you believe. I’m fine. I can look after myself _with or without_ Eren… and I’m fine.”

“I didn’t say you weren’t.” Annie countered, holding her hands up defensively. “I just know that _I_ wasn’t when I left my long-term relationship and realized that I’d been living a lie the entire time.”

“What?” Mikasa spoke plainly, looking at Annie with an impatient glower.

“I was engaged, years ago. My parents set me up with this guy as a teenager, he was rich and kind, good-looking too. Dating him was like eating white bread. It was so bland, gummy, unsatisfying. The wedding was approaching and one night I looked at him and all I could think was “ _God, I hope this isn’t all I have to look forward to_ ”. The idea of being with him was so disappointing.” Annie shook her head, a full-body shiver wracking her frame like the mere thought bothered her.

“What happened?”

“Well, long story short, I found out that he felt pretty similar after all. Our parents were all pretty pissed to find out we were both gay, but it was good for me. I have nightmares sometimes about what would have happened if I’d stayed and never spoken up.”

“I understand, but I don’t really think this applies to me and Eren.”

“That’s why I got so crazy that day. I just couldn’t live with the idea of Eren living one of those nightmares. He wouldn’t speak up for himself so I had to.” Annie continued, uncaring that Mikasa was trying to politely excuse herself from the conversation. She didn’t like how closely this was hitting home for her. “I didn’t realize how different your situation might be and I didn’t care to. I just needed to know he was living his best life, you know?”

“I know.” Mikasa agreed stiffly, nodding her head. “He’s happier now.”

“He is.” Annie agreed, smiling. “You will be too, just give it time and you’ll-”

“Thank-you for trying to help, but this is also one of those instances where our circumstances are drastically different.” Mikasa interrupted, holding her head high as she turned to leave. “I don’t have something better waiting for me. It was only him.”

“You don’t know that.” Annie huffed, stubbornly stomping after the other girl. Mikasa shoved her hands into her pockets, curling them into fists in a desperate bid to stop their shaking. She wasn’t going to break down here, in front of Annie of all people. She could feel herself slipping. She’d been too strong for too long and she could feel the water threatening to spill over the dam. “Mikasa?”

“What future could I possibly have without him?” Mikasa bit out finally, her voice a helpless outcry for help. Help she didn’t want to ask for from anyone, but certainly not this person. “ _Everyone_ leaves. I’m so sick of it. No matter how certain I am that this time it’s mutual, that this time we both care about each other enough to stay… it always falls apart. I think I’m just meant to be alone.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to say anything. I’m fine.” Mikasa said, staring determinedly down at the ground as her eyes started to sting with unshed tears. “I’ve come to terms with it. I’ll be alone and Eren will be with Levi.”

“But that’s not a happy ending for you, being alone is _lonely_.” Annie pressed, setting her hand gently on Mikasa’s arm. “Aren’t you lonely, Mikasa?”

“Of course I am!” Mikasa snapped, her words a harsh growl. Annie had dragged the confession up from the pits of her stomach, where she’d been desperately trying to swallow down her feelings. She turned and reeled toward Annie, who flinched back like she was about to be attacked. Instead, Mikasa threw herself into the girl’s arms and hugged her tightly for support.

Then, she began to cry into Annie’s shoulder. “ _I’m s-so lonely_.”

“Do you want to come back to my apartment?” Annie blurted unexpectedly, fishing a tissue from her pocket and offering it up to Mikasa.

“Why?” Mikasa sniffled, attempting to stop her tears. She was blubbering like a fool in public, it was so damn embarrassing.

“So you don’t have to be alone tonight.” Annie explained, brushing Mikasa’s hair back from her tear-stained red face. “It was scary for me too, when I left him. Even though I knew I didn’t care about him like that, he was all I had. He was the future I’d envisioned my whole life and then there was just a big blankness ahead of me. I had no idea where to go or who to be. I’m giving you a place to go, at least until you find your own.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

\--

“So… this is my place.” Annie explained, gesturing grandly to the small one-bedroom apartment on the second floor of a century old building. Mikasa nodded, looking around the room. It wasn’t exactly what she’d envisioned.

“It’s a mess.”

“That’s rude, you know.” Annie snorted, sounding thoroughly amused by Mikasa’s bluntness for a change. Mikasa snickered too, shrugging her shoulders.

“I know.” She relented, crossing the room and settling onto the couch. She pushed some dirty clothes aside and made herself comfortable. “You’ve said worse to me.”

“Fair enough.” Annie muttered, scratching the back of her neck rather awkwardly. She looked around the room, fidgeting. It wasn’t often that she had company over, especially without planning it first. She didn’t have many friends and usually it was easier to hang-out at their dwellings. She lived on the outskirts of town from the university they all attended.

Annie debated how to break the ice. “You want something to drink?”

“I don’t drink.”

“Of course you don’t.” Annie grumbled, uncaring that the annoyance showed in her voice. She wasn’t sure now if she was annoyed more with Mikasa or herself. Thankfully, it was then that she noticed Mikasa staring longingly toward the shelf covered in Annie’s dvd collection.

Annie lit up proudly, hoping this might be something to fill the silence. “What kind of movies do you like?”

“Horror.”

“Yeah? I like those.” Annie grinned widely, walking over to her collection and grabbing her favorites from the genre. She walked back to the couch, hesitantly settling next to Mikasa. “It’s a place to start, huh?”

“Yeah.” Mikasa agreed, eyeing Annie curiously as she sifted through the small stack of movie cases. She seemed so nervous and update, Mikasa was overwhelmed with the urge to just make her settle down and relax. She was making this way more complicated than she had to.

They settled on a cheesy horror movie about a generic monster. Annie had clearly seen it many times before, while it was Mikasa’s first time watching it. She jumped a few times, which Annie seemed to find entirely too amusing. More than once Mikasa tore her wide eyes away from the things happening on screen to find that Annie was staring at her, more invested in her reactions than the movie itself.

After the first movie ended, Annie jumped up almost immediately to put the sequel into the player.

“I’m sorry for being a nuisance, you probably had stuff you wanted to do tonight.” Mikasa mumbled, a shiver wracking her frame. Since the sun had set the temperature in the building had dropped substantially. She stared to where Annie was kneeling by the tv, setting everything up to continue their movie marathon.

“Nah, it’s fine.”

Annie was a complicated person. At first glance she seemed so tough and above it all, unemotional and uninvested in everything. Getting to know her it became quickly apparent that she was nothing like the persona she tried to play off to everyone she met. She was nervous, emotional, insecure. Her body language gave a lot of it away, but so did her eager to please attitude.

It was like she’d never had a guest over once in her life, the way she hovered and watched Mikasa. She brought her food, drinks, and even a blanket after she caught her shivering halfway through the second movie.

“My landlord doesn’t let me turn the heat up any higher than this. Here.” Annie had explained, carefully draping the blanket around Mikasa’s shivering shoulders. Her touch was feather-light and delicate as she adjusted it into place, practically tucking Mikasa in against her couch. It was odd to have someone else taking such careful care of her. Mikasa had never experienced it before, not that she could remember clearly.

“Thanks.” Mikasa whispered, snuggling down into the blanket. It even smelled like Annie, warm like cinnamon or a bonfire. Mikasa was quickly deciding that she liked it here, sat right in the middle of Annie’s apartment. It wasn’t something she would have guessed in a million years and it certainly wasn’t where she’d expected her day to go that morning, yet here she was.

“Maybe this was a dumb idea.” Annie blurted, just as the credits for the second movie began to roll.

“What?”

“Inviting you over.” Annie clarified, from where she was hovering on the arm rest opposite Mikasa. A silence followed where Annie cleared her throat, seemingly very tense. “It’s awkward and weird, I guess I didn’t really think it through when I-”

“I’m having fun.” Mikasa stated, deciding that she might have to make that clear if she wanted to stay any longer. Annie blinked owlishly at her, like she hadn’t expected to hear that. “It’s better than going home.”

“Well, good to know this isn’t the _worst_ possible thing you could be doing right now.” Annie huffed, but she was smiling now. A relieved and messy kind-of smile, one that revealed the kind crinkles by her eyes and the dimples in her cheeks. Mikasa was hit with an overwhelming urge to make her smile again as soon as it faded away, but she was at a loss for how to go about it.

Annie looked over at her, then glanced to the television screen. “So, another movie?”

Mikasa nodded.

After that, Annie finally settled down properly on the couch and near enough to Mikasa that they could share a bowl of popcorn. The third movie proved to be utterly boring, however. Mikasa found herself nodding off more than once, her eyes darting longingly toward the door and her head filled with thoughts of her comfortable bed. She didn’t feel sad or lonely anymore, she was too tired to be overly emotional.

“I’m getting tired.” Mikasa said, interrupting the dramatic monologue of the character on screen. Annie turned to her with an offended gasp. “I should probably head home soon.”

“It’s halfway through a movie, you can’t leave now!” Annie insisted, shoving her playfully. Mikasa smiled tiredly, reaching up to rub at her eyes. “This is my favorite one, if you don’t watch it all the way through we’re no longer friends.”

“Are we friends?” Mikasa asked confusedly, looking at Annie out of the corner of her eye. She was attempting to be discreet and it paid off. She got to watch as Annie realized what she’d said, her cheeks darkening and her eyes widening. She looked caught off guard and adorably at a loss for words.

“That’s kinda the direction I was hoping to go tonight, yeah.” Annie mumbled, looking back toward the screen in front of them. “You, uh, seem like you could use one.”

“And you don’t?” Mikasa countered, her tone on the edge of defensive. She didn’t want to be a pity friend, she had no time for games like that. Luckily, Annie just laughed her off, rather than getting weird about it like she might have if she was faking the whole thing.

“Just drag me through the mud, why don’t you?” Annie chuckled, rubbing her hands over her face, no doubt to hide how red she was going again. She blushed a lot, Mikasa was surprised to realize. “I know my social skills are subpar, but geesh.”

After that, Mikasa relaxed. She relaxed so much that she nodded off without realizing, her head falling on Annie’s shoulder with a heavy clunk.

Annie felt the added weight the moment it settled. A small part of her immediately stiffened, given how long it’d been since she’d had so much human contact. She wasn’t a cuddler, even most of her hook-ups in the past year had just been straight to the point and then they went their separate ways. Having a cute girl pressed closed to her side and leaning on her for support… it was a lot.

So Annie stayed perfectly still, despite wondering whether it was such a good idea and if Mikasa would even allow this if she wasn’t exhausted and lonely out of her mind. Annie wanted to be there for her, and a small selfish part of Annie was enjoying this.

Most of the movie was over by the time Mikasa stirred against her side, a particularly loud scream on-screen waking her up. Annie regretted not turning the volume down when she had the chance.

“Annie?” Mikasa slurred tiredly, lifting her head and looking blearily around the room. Annie swallowed harshly, her heart racing. How had she not noticed Mikasa was so attractive until now? Until the girl was friggin’ sat in her living room and cuddling the life out of her?

“Hey, I was wondering if you were gonna wake back up any time tonight.” Annie managed around the nervous lump in her throat, carefully extracting her arm from where it’d ended up wrapped around Mikasa’s sagging shoulders. “When was the last time you actually slept? The dark circles are making me think it’s been at least a week.”

Annie immediately cursed herself. _Way to flirt with a girl, idiot, comment on the dark circles beneath her eyes._

Against all odds, Mikasa simply laughed at her social-ineptitude. She tipped her head back and a loud yawn slipped past her lips, heavy eyelashes landing on Mikasa’s cheekbones as her eyes threatened to close again. She stood up before she could fall asleep though, barely herself upright. Annie was swamped with the desire to ask her to stay the night.

“Thanks for inviting me over tonight.”

“Yeah, no prob.” Annie assured her, scrambling to her feet and following Mikasa to the door. As she watched Mikasa clumsily juggle the doorknob around, she swallowed her fear down and decided to do the impossible. It’d been so long since she’d tried to make a move on a girl.

She reached out, hand settling on Mikasa’s on the doorknob. “Uh, Mikasa, could I maybe get your number in case we wanted to do this ag-”

Annie was cut off when Mikasa turned to face her, eyes wide and curious. At first, there was nothing to be seen on her face but surprise at having been more or less asked out. However, it faded away rather quickly when Mikasa realized just how close their faces actually were, lips a mere inch or two apart and noses brushing.

Mikasa blinked, gaze darting down to Annie’s lips. Annie watched as she swallowed harshly.

“Annie, can I-” Neither of them were entirely sure who made the first move, only that one second they weren’t kissing and in the next their lips were pressed firmly together. Annie kissed like she fought, fast and ruthless. Mikasa found herself quickly overwhelmed, drowning in the onslaught of sensation and desire.

God, she’d never wanted anything like she wanted Annie in that moment, any way she could have her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean-” Mikasa apologized, attempting to pull away. She felt nervous and out of her element, second thoughts settling in heavy. Annie didn’t give her time to fully regret it though, her fingers weaving into Mikasa’s hair and gently leading her forward again.

“Don’t apologize, it’s okay.” Annie whispered, kissing her softly again. Mikasa attempted to ignore the voice in the back of her head telling her to back away the second she was out of her comfort zone, instead focusing on the longing curling hot in the pit of her stomach.

She allowed Annie to kiss her deeply, licking into her mouth and gripping her jaw tight, leading her wordlessly backward. The reality of the situation didn’t dawn on Mikasa until the back of her legs hit the mattress and she fell back onto the bed, legs spread on either side of Annie’s and hair falling messily around her shoulders.

Mikasa stared up at Annie through her lashes, watched avidly as Annie wiped the saliva from her mouth using the back of her hand. She was leaning over Mikasa then, kissing her again and again, stealing the breath from her lungs and causing her pulse to jackrabbit.

“You’re so pretty.” Annie whispered, kissing down Mikasa’s jaw-line in simple pecks. Still, it was enough to make Mikasa squirm, unused to having so much attention on her all at once. She lifted her legs, wrapping them around Annie’s hips for support.

“T-Thanks.” Mikasa managed, letting out a soft moan as Annie began to kiss and lap at the curve of Mikasa’s pale neck. When she introduced teeth and bit down on the sensitive skin, Mikasa keened high in the back of her throat. She felt Annie smirk against her skin.

“Let me know if I do anything you don’t like or go too far, okay?”

“Okay.” Mikasa agreed breathlessly, head dropping back against the mattress. She laid there attempting to catch her breath as Annie shucked her shirt up around her shoulders, exposing her chest. Mikasa squirmed nervously as Annie reached around beneath her to undo the clasp of her bra, removing it a moment later. When silence followed and Mikasa didn’t immediately hear Annie shuffling around, she began to panic. “Um, is everything good?”

“Good?” Annie laughed, her voice dark with lust. Mikasa swallowed harshly, nearly choking on air at the mere sound of it. “God, it’s better than good. You’re gorgeous, Mikasa.”

“Th-” Mikasa didn’t have time to finish speaking before Annie dove forward, closing her lips around one of Mikasa’s hardened nipples. Mikasa cried out, hips bucking up and swiveling around in search of contact. She’d never been so desperate to be touched in her life.

Much to her unspoken dismay, Annie didn’t immediately continue on her path downward. Instead she stayed where she was, happily settled between Mikasa’s legs and playing with her breasts. She groped each of them in her hands, thumb rubbing over her nipples whenever her tongue wasn’t lavishing them with attention.

It got to the point that Mikasa’s nervousness toward the new experience and new partner subsided, replaced by an uncharacteristically demanding impatience. She used the leverage of her legs wrapped around Annie’s hips to roll them over, until she was settled in Annie’s lap. Annie didn’t protest, simply laid back and settled her hands on Mikasa’s hips.

“What do you want to do now, sweetheart?” Annie whispered, eyes lidded as they watched Mikasa tear her shirt off over her head.

“I-I don’t know.” Mikasa admitted sheepishly, reaching down to run her hands over Annie’s clothed body, touching everything she groped onto while they were kissing and more. She bit her lip, hips rolling clumsily in Annie’s lap, searching for friction she couldn’t find with her jeans still on.

“You needed more than I was giving, huh?” Annie laughed, sitting up. Mikasa slid back on her legs and Annie brought their lips together again, kissing her slow and deep. When she pulled back, a string of saliva connected their mouths. Her hand settled at the button of Mikasa’s jeans, rolling it against the flat of her thumb. “Is this okay? Can I take them off?”

“Yes.” Mikasa said, nodding her head urgently. Annie let out a quiet chuckle at that, a smile on her face as she lowered Mikasa back down to the bed. Her legs hung over the edge and Annie moved to settle between them again, effortlessly sliding her jeans down her legs. Faced then with a pair of white panties, Annie ran her thumbs over the lace waistband and hummed appreciatively. “You’re so pretty, Mikasa. I’ll do anything you ask of me, just tell me what you want.”

“Y-Your mouth.” Mikasa asked, stuttering through the embarrassing plea. Annie bit her lip teasingly, pulling it back between her teeth and staring back at Mikasa. She kneeled at the foot of the bed, hands settling on Mikasa’s bare thighs and pushing them further apart.

“Yeah? You want me here?” Annie asked, kissing over Mikasa’s inner thighs, nipping playfully at the stretch marks she found there. Mikasa threw her head back, grappling for a pillow and hiding her face behind it in an attempt to hide the noises leaving her throat. Tiny little whimpers and whines, eager to the point it was shameful. “No? That not what you had in mind?”

Before Mikasa could possibly hope to voice her thoughts on the matter, Annie shifted until she was right between Mikasa’s widespread legs. Her hot breath cascaded across the wet fabric of Mikasa’s panties, showcasing just how badly she wanted Annie without needing to speak a word. Mikasa blushed fervently behind her pillow.

“Annie, _please_.” She begged, hooking her legs around Annie’s shoulders and attempting to pull her closer to where she needed her. Annie laughed at her forwardness, gripping her thighs tightly but taking the hint all the same. She leaned closer, mouthing over the outline of her clit against the fabric.

“Please?” Annie repeated, tongue darting out to drag over the fabric. Mikasa groaned, low and unsatisfied. Her hand came down then, tangling in Annie’s hair rather harshly and yanking her forward, in a way that caused a shadow of pain to sting Annie’s scalp. She didn’t have any problem with that though, rough sex with hair-pulling was usually the type she went for. She had a feeling it’d be a while before Mikasa was up for anything like that, though.

“Don’t tease me.” Mikasa grumbled, her cheeks aflame with embarrassment. “I want you.”

“I know you do.” Annie said, a hint of smugness to her tone. Then her fingers were dragging over the wet patch of Mikasa’s panties, rubbing teasingly against place it was leaking from so steadily. “Your pussy is soaking wet for me, I bet you taste so good.”

“Don’t say stuff like that!” Mikasa yelped, but her own body betrayed her words the moment Annie started to slide her last article of clothing down her legs. Mikasa’s legs spread wide on instinct, eager to be undressed and to feel the pleasure Annie was teasing her with.

“Why not? It’s true.” Annie muttered, but she was easily distracted now that she had Mikasa lying entirely naked in front of her. All of her efforts to work Mikasa up slowly and tease her over the edge were instantly forgotten, her own arousal doubling as her eyes trailed over Mikasa’s body. She was gorgeous, from the tips of her toes right up to her scowling, blushing face. “I’m gonna make you feel so good, you deserve it.”

“Well, hurry up and do it!” Mikasa huffed petulantly, crossing her arms over her bare chest. Annie rolled her eyes, but she didn’t need much persuasion after all. She leaned her head in, inhaling the smell of sex between Mikasa’s legs, and then promptly lapping her tongue across the wetness gathered there.

“Annie.” Mikasa groaned, her voice going pitchy as Annie began to lap up the slickness between her folds, the tip of her tongue just barely teasing Mikasa’s clit with each upward swipe. Mikasa squirmed around, the only thing keeping her relatively still being Annie’s nails digging into her thighs and attempting to pin her in place.

Eventually, Annie grew bored with tasting her and easing her into the sensations, her mischievous streak taking the lead as she focused all of her attention on Mikasa’s most sensitive spot. She sucked and lapped at her clit, half-amused when Mikasa’s whines and whimpers amounted to porn-worthy moans and pleas.

Her thighs clamped down on either side of Annie’s head and she threw her head back, downright filthy things leaving her mouth. “God! Don’t stop! Feels so good, want you to fuck me with your fingers. Please, please, pl-”

Mikasa cut herself off with a choked, drawn-out moan. Annie’s tongue trailed downward then, licking into her and stretching out her twitching entrance with her tongue alone. It didn’t make sense to her to rush things along and introduce fingers before she’d even came. They had all night to draw this out.

Annie licked into her, listening to Mikasa’s soft keens each time she’d do something just right. As she ate her out, Annie brought her hand up and rubbed her thumb against Mikasa’s swollen and slickened clit. A moment later and Mikasa was bucking against her tongue, sloppy and desperate.

She was so wet, twitching and clenching around her tongue, slickness flooding Annie’s chin no matter how she tried to lap it all up with her tongue. Annie couldn’t help but pride herself in how entirely wrecked she’d made Mikasa in such a short amount of time.

“I think I’m gonna…” Mikasa trailed off with a whine, legs clamping shut on either side of Annie’s head and simply holding her there. Annie took it like a champ as Mikasa rolled and rocked her hips, shuddering her way through her orgasm and more or less curling her body around the source of her pleasure.

“That good, huh?” Annie asked, the moment she’d managed to catch her breath. Mikasa’s legs fell on either side of her, widespread and slack like she didn’t even have the energy to move them. Annie came up from between them, wiping at her chin and clambering up onto the bed next to Mikasa.

At this point she was painfully turned on, but she curled up next to Mikasa and waited patiently for the other girl to catch her breath.

“What was that?” Mikasa asked finally, panting her way through the aftershocks of her climax. Annie shrugged, feeling the slightest bit cocky now.

“Have you never had anyone go down on you before?”

“I have, but it never… not like that.” Mikasa breathed, rubbing her hands over her face. Annie snickered to herself, a realization setting in.

“Oh, you’re too cute.” Annie breathed, voice filled with fondness. “What? You mean to tell me that you’ve _never_ had an orgasm before?”

“I don’t think so.” Mikasa mumbled, glancing toward Annie. Their eyes met and Annie was met with another wave of arousal burning through her. She reached out, thumb tracing over Mikasa’s swollen and bitten-red bottom lip.

“Well, call me an overachiever, but I think you’re about to have another.”

\--

After that night, there was a big shift in Mikasa’s daily life. It wasn’t so much her routine that changed, as much as her outlook. It was a lot easier to look on the bright side with someone new and exciting in her life, the words that Eren had spoke about Levi ringing in her mind. She understood now a lot better than she had then what he meant.

It was thrilling. Every little thing her and Annie did together felt like something entirely new, like an accomplishment and a new beginning all in one. Even if it was something as seemingly dull and simple as Annie coming over while Mikasa did chores or studied. Every moment they spent together was so much fun, so thrilling compared to what it would have been alone.

Annie was constantly making her laugh, her thoughtless sarcastic comments as Mikasa worked were enough to brighten any task. Then there were the movies they watched together, the list constantly growing. They went out to eat together, they went on adventures to nearby parks and cities they’d never been to before, and most of all they talked. They talked about anything and everything.

Despite their first impressions, it was becoming clear that they had a lot in common. And what they didn’t have in common? Led to a friendly and fun debate in which they always came to an agreement on some things by the end of it.

Mikasa was careful of how she compared it to Eren’s relationship with Levi, though. Her and Annie weren’t together yet, not officially anyway. They kissed and slept together, but they also joked and talked about other attractive people like close friends would. They’d never discussed a romantic label, not in the beginning and certainly not now.

As much as Mikasa wanted a straightforward answer, she was also afraid to ask.

\--

Annie was pretty damn sure she was losing her mind. It’d been months since she’d gone looking for a relationship or a date, she’d long ago decided that they weren’t worth the effort and the mind games that went along with it. Then Mikasa had stormed into her life and taken her by surprise, and she’d felt excited. It wasn’t dating, it was no solid commitments and it was fun.

It was fun right up until the point she realized she wanted a commitment for once in her life and she didn’t know how to ask for it after pushing them away for so long.

See, what once felt freeing about her relationship with Mikasa was suddenly very constrictive when she realized Mikasa wasn’t technically her girlfriend. Mikasa could meet somebody else, could grow more confident and go after a relationship, could even go back to Eren if the circumstances aligned just right.

And Annie was absolutely certain she did not want that.

Mikasa was the best thing to happen to her in an undoubtedly long time. She was sweet, so kind and understanding of Annie and everything that made Annie how she was. She was a constant reassurance and encouraging force. She was so loving and romantic, constantly doting on Annie and taking her nice places, always treating her like a treasure.

As much as she wasn’t expecting it and certainly wasn’t looking for it, Annie was surprised to find that she liked being taken care of a little bit. She’d never really had the privilege and she didn’t take it for granted now, she was constantly praising and thanking Mikasa for every kind thing she did. More than once, Annie had caught herself attempting to bite back the “L” word.

That wasn’t good at all.

\--

They just made it through the door and already Annie had Mikasa pressed up against it, kissing her like she was starving for it. Mikasa giggled into the kiss, familiar with the heat and lust building up inside of herself by now. She reached down, gripping Annie’s ass in her hands and rocking their bodies together, grinding sinfully against Annie’s legs in a shameless attempt to get herself off quicker.

Annie growled at that, looking positively ravenous already. She gripped Mikasa’s hand and led her toward the bedroom, stumbling around in the dark of Annie’s messy apartment.

See, most nights Mikasa didn’t come over with a hook-up in mind. It just always happened to head in that direction, not that she had a problem with it. Things would start out innocent enough, like a study session, or in tonight’s case: a romantic candle-lit dinner for two. They’d hardly made it through the first course at the restaurant before Annie was making bedroom eyes at Mikasa, eager to get out of there.

She seemed to have a kink for being treated to nice things like the goddess she was. It wasn’t like Mikasa planned these reactions, yet here they were. Second course of the meal and Mikasa’s bare foot was between Annie’s legs beneath the table, applying teasing pressure beneath her dress. By the time desserts rolled around, they’d already asked for the bill and were halfway home, giggling to each other and getting handsy in the backseat of a cab.

They were high on love, on the strength of their feelings for each other, on the excitement of such a new and hopeful relationship. They wanted it all and damn if they weren’t eager to give it up to each other.

Their clothes are off by the time they reach the bedroom, both naked and eager to get their hands on one another. They’re rolling around on the bed in record time, giggling and kissing as they mess up the sheets and grind against each other. It’s clumsy and uncoordinated, the desperation messing with their bearings, but it’s never been better. The emotions behind it are running on high and it makes everything so much more intense.

The restaurant Mikasa took Annie out to was like something out of a movie. It was expensive, every single decoration inside of it confirmed that much. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, but more than any of it Mikasa herself stole the show. She wore the most beautiful red dress, striking beneath the light of the chandelier. Annie had wanted to shove it down her legs and fuck her senseless the moment she laid eyes on the damn thing.

They’ve been exploring their bodies together lately, seeing what they do and don’t like in the bedroom where Mikasa is so new to all of it. It was a little bit hit or miss at first, but then things had gotten a little  bit rougher when tensions were high and it all clicked. They both liked the same things in one area. They liked to be manhandled, to be rough and overeager, bordering on painful but oh so good.

Tonight would be no exception to the rule. Mikasa may have been the romantic behind all of the nice dates and beautiful dinners, but Annie excelled in acts of love shown through sex. She had been planning this for a while now, waiting for just the right time to bring it up. It seemed that tonight was the time, with a pliant and eager Mikasa grinding down in her lap, entirely naked.

“I want to fuck you tonight.” Annie said simply, nails digging into Mikasa’s hips. The other girl’s hips stuttered at the feeling, her lips curling up into a satisfied grin.

“Okay.” Mikasa agreed, nothing like the blushing prudish person she’d been during their first time. There was no hesitation, no desire to hide what she wanted, no embarrassment in admitting exactly what made her feel good and how she wanted it. Out of everything to come from their relationship, Annie was most proud of Mikasa’s newfound confidence.

“With a strap-on?” Annie asked, pulling away from their latest heated kiss to meet Mikasa’s eyes with a serious gaze. She wanted to be sure Mikasa understood where this was going, that she was okay with it.

Mikasa was nodding the moment their lips parted, a needy whine slipping out at the mere idea.

“God, yes, I want it.” Mikasa insisted, hands settling on Annie’s shoulders and nails digging in. “Hurry up.”

That was about as much encouragement as Annie could possibly need. She was out of the bed in record time, trifling through her drawer to find everything she’d need. She felt a bit clumsy and ridiculously as she strapped a silicone dick to herself, but any fear that it might kill the mood was lost when she looked back to the bed and found Mikasa lounging, idly touching herself as she watched Annie across the room.

Annie returned to the bed and clambered between Mikasa’s legs like a woman on a mission, her fingers joining Mikasa’s inside the wetness of her entrance. Mikasa exhaled shakily, bearing down on the fingers inside of her, clenching and tightening around them to prove she was ready. Only once Annie was sure it’d be a comfortable stretch, bordering on pain but not genuinely uncomfortable, did she slowly start to ease the length of the fake cock inside of Mikasa’s willing body.

“I needed you so badly.” Mikasa breathed out, fingers weaving through Annie’s hair and tugging on it as the length of the toy slid into her pussy. Annie nodded, burying her face into Mikasa’s neck and nipping at the most sensitive spot beneath the curve of her jaw.

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard, you’ll come around this cock ten times before I even get off once.”

“Yeah right.” Mikasa laughed, a hint of a challenge present in her voice. Annie grinned against her skin, hips snapping forward suddenly, deeming Mikasa ready enough to take it. Mikasa cried out, hips grinding back against the thrust, jerking and rolling so the head of the cock would rub up against all the right places inside of her.

“You just wait, you’re gonna be covered in your own cum by the time I’m done with you.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Mikasa agreed quietly, fingers trailing over Annie’s face as Annie began to fuck up into her in earnest. The slick slide of the toy in and out of her body was tantalizing, satisfying in a way she’d almost forgotten with how many other things they’d tried together. “I just know I can make you come undone at least once before that happens.”

“Is that so?”

“Feels so good.” Mikasa groaned, completely ignoring the question that’d been asked of her. She threw her head back, using her grip on Annie’s shoulders as leverage to lift herself up and drive back down, the toy filling her in just the right way each time gravity would do its job and bring her back down. Annie thrust up to meet her more than once, enjoying the overwhelmed squeals it’d tear from Mikasa’s tired throat.

They ended up in missionary position, trying to save Mikasa’s legs from the burn they’d undoubtedly feel tomorrow if she rode Annie the whole time. Instead they sprawled out across the mattress, Annie settled on top of Mikasa and grinding her hips back and forth, driving the strap-on into Mikasa with unnerving accuracy. Mikasa was moaning and holding on for dear life the whole time.

After her second orgasm, Annie gave her a second to catch her breath. Mikasa wasted that second by clinging needily to Annie and kissing at her breasts between them. “Think I can try it after? I want to see what you look like while I fuck you with it.”

“Are you kidding? I want you to plow me into the mattress.” Annie admitted, her eagerness showing through in her voice. Mikasa shook her head at the terms she used, but her interest definitely spiked after hearing Annie say those things.

“Shut-up.” Mikasa laughed, shaking her head fondly.

Four orgasms. That’s how many Annie managed to pull from Mikasa in the time it took for her to have her first one. At that point the competition was on, Mikasa was determined to one-up her and beat the record after she caught her breath and strapped herself in. She was going to give it to Annie so good she’d wipe that cocky smirk right off her face.

No sooner had she finished coming down from cloud nine than her phone was ringing, loud and insistent on Annie’s bedside table. Mikasa groaned, rolling over to grab it despite the ache in her core. She brought it to her ear, answering the call without checking who it was.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mikasa, are you at the dorm right now?” Eren asked, his tone slightly urgent. Mikasa sat up, looking blearily around the room. She’d had her sense of direction fucked right out of her, it took her a second to realize whose bed they were in.

“Um, no?” Mikasa answered, clearing her throat when she noticed how low her voice was. If Eren noticed anything off, he didn’t point it out.

“Shit.” Eren breathed, sounding disappointed. “I needed you to look something over for me. It’s a job application and Levi tried to help me with it, but he’s kind-of shit compared to you when it comes to professionalism. I’m on my way over to the dorm now, any chance you could meet me there?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Thank-you. This means a lot to me, it might just be my big break.”

“Yeah, of course. It’s no trouble.” Mikasa turned, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. They ended the call quickly after that and Mikasa was quick to get to her feet. She managed to pull a shirt over her head before Annie made her annoyance known, groaning loud and disappointed into the darkness.

Mikasa turned back to the bed, pacing over to lean over Annie’s side and kiss her forehead. “That was Eren, he needs me at the dorm as soon as possible to look over a-”

“I don’t care.” Annie grunted, playfully shoving Mikasa away. There was a genuinely hurt undertone to her actions though, one Mikasa had witnessed a few times when she eagerly left Annie to help Eren out with something. “I thought it was my turn now?”

“Oh, come on, you came.” Mikasa laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Annie didn’t laugh. “It was good for you, wasn’t it?”

“Of course it was, I have you naked in my bed, how could it have been bad?” Annie relented, opening her arms and pulling Mikasa into a messy, slick hug. Mikasa pushed her hair back and kissed her temple, soft and sweet. The last thing Annie wanted to do right now was let Mikasa leave this bad and head through that door. “I just feel like we’re always cutting our time together short for Eren’s sake.”

“Well, you know how it is, he’s my…”

“Your _Eren_ , I know.” Annie groaned, collapsing back down into the pillows. It was clear she’d already lost the fight, but it didn’t come as a surprise. It was hardly even disappointing, considering she’d never had any hope of winning in the first place. It was always Eren, he had a 100% winning streak that Annie couldn’t hope to beat.

“Are you mad at me?” Mikasa asked, insecurity bleeding into her voice. Annie sighed, knowing better than to ignore that hurt and uncertain tone. She would never willingly hurt Mikasa, even if it was only by leaving her in the dark about how she felt.

“Not at you.” Annie said. Mikasa didn’t press for more answers, clearly in a rush. Instead she got dressed as quickly as possible, occasionally turning to shoot a smile in Annie’s direction. It was only once she was ready to go that she returned to Annie’s side of the bed, like a dog with its tail between its legs, begging for forgiveness.

“You can come with me if you want.” Mikasa suggested, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. When Annie didn’t immediately stop frowning, Mikasa leaned in and kissed her lips. “We can finish up at the dorm once he leaves?”

“And wake up your whole building?” Mikasa didn’t answer, but the outline of a smirk that played on her lips in the darkness was enough to answer the question without the use of words. Annie rolled her eyes, looking up at the ceiling tiredly. “Fine, I’ll come.”

They made it back to the dorm building in record time. Mikasa rushed inside, worried that Eren might already be there and waiting for her. Annie took her time a little bit more, still half-asleep in the passenger's side of the car. She yawned, lifting her head and looking around the dimly-lit parking lot she found herself in.

Annie got out of the car and started toward the doors of the building, ready to get up there and climb into Mikasa’s bed. She was tired now, the sexy mood effectively killed for the time being. All she wanted was to fall asleep in Mikasa’s arms and forget all about Eren for just one night.

“Annie! What are you doing here?” She froze, wondering briefly if her mind was making that voice up, or if she was still asleep somehow and in the middle of a nightmare. It was neither of those things. It was actual, real, living Eren in the flesh. He was approaching her with a smile and a wave, Levi trailing along calmly beside him.

As much as Annie appreciated Eren’s friendship on any given day, right now she was tired and he’d interrupted her sex life. She had no patience for him.

“Visiting Mikasa.” Annie deadpanned in answer, turning and leading the way into the building. Eren and Levi followed after her, cramming into the small space of the elevator.

“What a coincidence, we are too.” Eren offered, though his voice was quieter now, no doubt noticing how murderous Annie looked. That was notable of him, but Annie was out for blood and no amount of common decency would stop her now.

“It’s hardly visiting when you go to her house expecting something from her. Then it’s more like hiring her without any of the pay.” Annie grumbled bitterly, stomping out of the elevator the moment the doors opened. Eren rushed after her, looking confusedly at the back of her head.

“What are you talking about?” Eren asked. And Annie, she’d reached her limit. She spun around and faced him, hands curled into fists at her sides.

“The fact that you still treat her like a maid despite telling me you hated the way she hovered, that it was a nuisance when she looked after you and treated you like a child.” Annie snapped, glaring at the boy, uncaring that his boyfriend was watching the exchange. “I’m starting to realize she treated you like a child because you acted like one.”

“Geez, what’s _your_ problem tonight?”

“You’re not being fair to her, Eren.” Annie told him plainly, holding her chin high. “You expect you both to move on and be your own people, but only if you still get all the benefits from your relationship that you used to. You’re an immature, ungrateful brat.”

“Annie.” Levi spoke up finally, placing a reassuring hand on Eren’s shoulder. He was going to intervene and stand up for his boyfriend, Annie was going to start yelling and possibly throwing punches, it was going to be a big mess and all because Eren didn’t know how to admit-

“No, she’s right.” Eren spoke up, catching all of them off guard. He wasn’t looking her in the eye, instead staring down to where he was fidgeting with the job application in his hands. “I’m sorry, I’ll try to be better.”

“You’d better.” Annie growled. She turned then, marching toward the door to Mikasa’s dorm. “Mikasa deserves it.”

\--

After that Eren didn’t spend much time at all over at their dorm room. He was constantly over at Levi’s, to the point that he practically lived there. Oddly enough, Mikasa didn’t even notice the loss unless she stopped to really think about it. Her life was just so busy all of the sudden. It felt full without Eren’s presence in it.

She still loved him though, but she didn’t want him back. She didn’t even look at Levi with jealousy or anger anymore, now she just respected him for what he did for Eren. They’d never be friends after what’d happened, but she didn’t hate him now either.

She was too busy to bother hating him. All of her time that’d been freed-up with the lack of mess around the dorm was immediately dedicated to Annie. They did everything together, went everywhere together, were constantly looking forward to when they’d see each other again when they were separated.

It was love, Mikasa was sure of it. She was realizing now that she’d never really known what romantic love was, all this time. She’d been so convinced that she had everything she needed in Eren, she hadn’t realized that someone else might be able to offer her something different, something more.

But that flighty feeling in her chest whenever she looked at Annie, the comfort and thrill it gave her simultaneously to be near the other girl… that was love.

Mikasa didn’t tell her right away, not after all the times she’d listened to Annie talk about her fear of love and commitment. Mikasa held her breath and bit her tongue for as long as she could, until she felt like she might choke on the words if she held them in any longer.

It happened one morning when Annie was only just waking up. She was laying in bed next to Mikasa, hair a tangled mess and eyes narrowed into a sleepy squint, but her smile so damn big the moment she recognized Mikasa was already staring at her sleeping form. Something in the other girl’s resolved had just cracked in that instance. Mikasa felt all of the hesitation and worry draining from her bones.

“I love you.” Mikasa said it so easily, like she hadn’t been hanging onto the words with everything she had for weeks. There was no shocked gasp, Annie’s eyes didn’t fly open wide in shock, she didn’t roll out of the bed and head for the hills like Mikasa’s insecurities had tried to convince her would happen.

Annie just melted into the pillow, a blush spreading across her smiling face.

“I know.” Annie whispered, hand fumbling across the mattress until it found Mikasa’s. She wove their fingers together, squeezing their interlocked hands. “I think I might love you too.”

Mikasa felt her heart swell, beating insistently against the inside of her chest. She leaned closer, until she was invading Annie’s precious pillow space. Annie didn’t complain for once, just rested their foreheads together. Mikasa pecked her lips against Annie’s in a chaste kiss.

“Will you be my girlfriend then?” Mikasa asked, her hand coming up to cup Annie’s cheek. Her fingers mapped the planes of Annie’s face, the slope of her cheekbones and the swell of her lips. Annie scrunched her nose up, feeling ticklish as she swatted Mikasa’s hands away.

“On one condition.” Annie said, propping herself up on an elbow. “I want you to see a therapist.”

“Why?” Mikasa asked quietly, insecurities rushing to the surface at the mere mention of the word. She felt defensive, a need to argue her case raising in her chest. People had called her crazy before, oftentimes people who came between her and Eren. But hearing Annie imply it was… it hit home on another level.

Except that wasn’t what Annie was implying at all. Annie wasn’t so good with words, not when it came to the most important things, but this time she was trying her absolutely hardest. When she watched Mikasa physically recoil at the word “therapist”, she slid across the mattress closer to her. She held Mikasa close, kissing her forehead all over.

“I’m confident in my feelings for you and I trust you with my entire life, but there are things from your past that you have to move on from before you can settle into a serious relationship. If Eren asked it of you, I know you’d still prioritize him over me. I know if he asked for you to come back, if he so much as pleaded for a second, you’d leave me for him no matter what _you_ wanted.” Annie explained, her voice calm and reassuring. Mikasa blinked sleepily, nodding along as Annie spoke. “I want you to be confident in yourself. I want you to be healthy. I want you to be _mine_.”

“I am yours.” Mikasa huffed, but there was no fight in her words. Annie had explained herself perfectly, spilling her heart out to Mikasa about the things that worried her. The least Mikasa could do was give it a try, especially when she wanted this so very badly. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Thatta girl.” Annie chuckled, rolling on top of Mikasa. She ignored the ebony-haired girl’s squeal and immediately continued her assault in the form of kisses, littered all across Mikasa’s collarbones and chest. She mouthed over the hickeys she’d left there the night before, hands running over Mikasa’s stomach and hips appreciatively. “You’re so good for me, Mikasa. Always so good.”

\--

For some context, Levi liked cleaning. In fact, he might even go so far as to say that cleaning was one of his few strong passions in life. However, it wasn’t the act of cleaning as much as the feeling of zen that comes with having an organized house that reflects his taste.

Since Eren more or less moved in with him, every bit of organization and personalization he’d spent years building up in that damned apartment had gone out the window.

Levi loved Eren, he was sure of that much. Despite their differences and the age gap between them, Eren wa endlessly inspiring to Levi. The way he fought, the passion that fueled him in everything he does, the way he felt with everything he had no matter the emotion. Levi found it beyond fascinating. It was just something he’d never had, that unrivaled amount of determination, but he wanted to.

God, the more time he spent with Eren the more he could feel himself getting closer. Eren was changing him for the better constantly and he couldn’t be happier with their relationship.

He just didn’t feel like he was changing Eren. At all. He wasn’t sure that anyone could.

No matter how he tried to reason with Eren, the messy and childish tendencies stay. It wasn’t that he expected Levi to clean up after him, it was just that he’s so used to not having to do it himself it didn’t seem to come naturally to him. Some things he straight up doesn’t even know how to do, like use a dishwasher or do his own laundry.

Levi tried to be forgiving, he knew that Eren’s background situation wasn’t the best. Levi was finally getting to a point where he understood Mikasa a little better. He couldn’t blame her for looking after Eren really, not now that he knows how helpless and alone they were as teens. She stepped up and did what she had to, and because of her Eren never had to face those same responsibilities.

Levi thought back to his first impression of Mikasa with embarrassment. She wasn’t some helpless clingy girlfriend, she was a strong woman who’d had Eren depending on her for everything whether he wanted to or not. It wasn’t an ideal situation for either of them.

The point being, Levi regretted how he treated Mikasa in the beginning. A quick debate led him to the conclusion that he could just stop by and see her, apologize in person and move on.

So he stopped by Eren’s old dorm room one day after work, feeling entirely out of place as he knocked on the wood.

“I’ll be there in just a second!” Mikasa called from somewhere inside. Then she was wrenching the door open, confusion falling over her features upon seeing who was on the other side. To her credit, she didn’t immediately slam the door in his face. She gave an awkward smile and quirked an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“Hello, may I come in?”

“Is this about Eren? Do you need help dealing with him?” Mikasa laughed, waving Levi into her small and clean space. Levi looked around curiously, realizing this was his first time seeing where Eren used to spend all of his time. “He isn’t having nightmares again, is he?”

“Uh, no.” Levi cleared his throat, shaking his head to get back on track. “It is and it isn’t about Eren, if I’m being honest. Mostly I just wanted to see you and apologize for… everything. I was so inconsiderate and cruel to you. I’m so much older than you, I should have known better. I should have handled it better.”

“It happens.” Mikasa shrugged, so calm and unaffected that it threw Levi for a loop. Part of him had been expecting to leave this place with a hand-shaped slap imprint burned into the skin of his cheek. He’d heard that Mikasa was over-involved and unpredictable, but the girl he was looking at right now was the picture of calm.

Mikasa noticed him staring at her in awe and laughed it off. “Thank-you for apologizing, but it wasn’t necessary. You simply did what your heart told you to and even though the circumstances weren’t perfect, I think it was for the best. We’re all happier now, right?”

“Right.”

“Now, what was it about Eren you wanted to talk about?” Mikasa asked, turning to the pile of clothes folded neatly on her bed and shifting through them. Levi watched her work. “Are you planning an early birthday surprise? If not, can I? I’ve always planned his birthdays and I’d like to at least help out this year.”

“No, not a birthday surprise. That’s definitely your specialty, not mine.” Levi agreed hurriedly, coughing into his fist. “It’s just… I want him to change.”

“Excuse me?” Mikasa blurted, whirling around to face him again. There she was, the emotion-fueled and protective Mikasa he’d heard all about from everyone in his life since he’d started a relationship with Eren. Her eyes burned with a defensiveness, a willingness to stand up for Eren and fight no matter what the consequences could be.

“Nothing bad!” Levi explained in a rush, heaving a deep breath so he could tell the whole story as quickly as he could. “I feel more like his guardian than his lover sometimes. I know this is an awkward conversation to be having with me, but I don’t know who else to ask. You know him better than anyone does. Is there any way I can convince him to step it up a little bit? I don’t mind cleaning a little bit more, but he relies on me for everything. It’s too much pressure on such a new relationship.”

“Oh.” Mikasa breathed out, her shoulders sagging in visible relief. Still, she looked puzzled, there was no confidence in her expression. “I don’t have any advice for you, sorry. I never tried to change him, I just changed myself to accommodate for what he needed.”

“I’m not doing that.” Levi stated gruffly, rising to his feet. Mikasa had the gall to laugh at him.

“I know you’re not, I would never ask you to.” She corrected herself, shaking her head dismissively. “It’s unfair.”

“It is.”

“I’ll try to talk to him, how about that?”

“If you think you can help, sure.”

“I’ll do my best.” Mikasa agreed. After that a long few seconds passed where they simply stared at each other, standing a few feet apart. Levi wondered what was on her mind as she stared at him, if she was sizing him up and wondering what he had that she didn’t. He wondered if she was secretly still upset with him, if she hated him like he’d hated her in the beginning.

Mikasa broke him out of his thoughts with a loud clap of her hands. “Sorry, I don’t mean to rush you out of here, but I have a date in fifteen minutes and-”

“Oh.” Levi blurted dumbly, hit with the sudden realization that he was still all wrong when it came to who Mikasa was. She wasn’t standing there dwelling on Eren and thinking of how to get him back. She was already dating, she had someone else in her life. She was stronger than Levi had ever given her credit for, even now. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s fine, it was nice talking to you.” Mikasa explained, leading him toward the door. “Tell Eren I said to stop by whenever he gets a chance, okay?”

“Okay.” Levi agreed, offering her a small smile as he backed out of the door into the hallway. She waved him off, a bright smile on her face. Now that she mentioned it, he could see that she was dressed up and wearing nice make-up. “Good luck on your date.”

With that, he turned and left feeling much better than he had when he walked into the dorm room. He hoped she could help his cause.

Mikasa turned back to her dorm room. The moment the front door had closed behind Levi, the bathroom door swung open and Annie marched out of the room she’d been hiding in since finishing her shower and realizing a guest was over. She walked out in nothing but a towel, a cheeky grin on her face.

“Yeah, Mikasa.” Annie snorted, rolling her eyes. “Good luck on your date.”

“Shut-up.” Mikasa groaned, slapping a hand to her face.

\--

Mikasa was in the middle of studying when she heard a knock at the door. What she wasn’t expecting was to find Eren standing on the other side, considering he had a spare set of keys and had been letting himself in for weeks. Still, she greeted him with a smile and a short hug.

“Hey.”

“Hey, you wanted me to come by?” Mikasa nodded, slowly backing out of the hug. Before she had a chance to start explaining herself, Eren was walking into the room and voicing his best guess. “Did you find my old walkman? I swore it was here somewhere but I couldn’t find it anywhere when I was gathering my things to take to Levi’s and-”

“Come here.” Mikasa interrupted, walking past him and heading toward the kitchen table. They both settled in their respective chairs, the same ones they’d always used when they lived together full-time.

A quick glance at the table showed the piles of papers sorted into different categories. Mikasa pointed to them one by one. “These are your current bills and these are the numbers you have to call to make payment arrangements.”

“Uh…” Eren trailed off, looking puzzled. “What’s this about? I thought Levi was handling this stuff lately?”

“Levi is thinking about leaving you, Eren.” Mikasa said softly, reaching over to squeeze his hand. Eren ripped his hand out of her grip in seconds, staring at her in obvious disbelief. He was shaking his head, looking almost offended that she’d say something like that.

“What?” Eren laughed, looking to her like she might admit it was all one big joke .When she didn’, he got to his feet and began to pace back and forth. “You’re wrong. He loves me.”

“He does. He loves you a lot. That’s why he’s been willing to let it go for this long, but he’s reaching his limit. He doesn’t want to do all the things I used to do for you.” Mikasa explained gently, standing up and settling her hands on Eren’s shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. Once he stilled, she pulled him into a hug. “You need to learn how to take care of yourself if you want to keep him. This is the first step.”

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s okay, I’ll help you. You’re a genius, it’s not like you can’t figure it out.” Mikasa encouraged him, pulling back to smile back at him encouragingly.

“Levi told you all this?”

“He stopped by the other day.” Mikasa nodded. “He didn’t know how to bring it up to you himself so he asked me to help.”

“Why?”

“Levi isn’t your caretaker, he’s your partner. Partners implies you do equal work. Depending on someone to take care of all your business and chores while giving them nothing in return isn’t equal. I know that now and Levi has known that all along. You need to be a little bit more independent.” Mikasa explained, settling on the edge of her bed. Eren sat next to her, staring down at the floor as he processed all the new information.

“I want to be.” He said determinedly, biting his lip.

“Then let’s do it!” Mikasa laughed, jostling his knee. “I have a whole sink full of dirty dishes with _your_ name on it.”

“Mikasa, I _know_ how to wash dishes, I don’t need a lesson in _that_.” Eren groaned, covering his face with his hands and chuckling to himself quietly. Mikasa rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, but the dishes need done and a relationship is all about give and take. _That’s_ the lesson I’m teaching you now.”

“Since when do you know so much about healthy relationships anyway?” Eren snorted, walking over to the dish sink and setting to work. Mikasa followed him, leaning against the counter next to him.

“From watching you and Levi, therapy, my own personal experiences.” She watched as Eren’s eyebrows climbed toward his hairline and she laughed. “Look, I think he might have put up with you for a lot longer no matter whether you changed or not, but that doesn’t matter. This is good for you. You always hated relying on other people.”

“Yeah.” Eren nodded, smiling softly. “You’ve changed a lot lately.”

“Mm.”

“Since you started dating Annie.” Eren added, flashing a smirk her way. Mikasa’s jaw dropped, a blush rising to her cheeks in record time. Though they’d been present in each other’s lives a lot recently, that was one topic she’d never introduced. She talked about Annie a lot, made it clear they spent a ton of time together, but she’d never said anything that might imply it was romantic.

“You know?!”

“Of course I know, Annie never shuts up about you now. I’m pretty sure the entire boxing club knows your getting together anniversary date.” Eren laughed wickedly, yelping when Mikasa splashed some of the bubbles in the sink into his face. He scrubbed his face off. “Were you ever gonna tell me on your own? I’ve been waiting forever.”

“Ugh.” Mikasa sighed, turning away to hide the fond look on her face. “She claims _I’m_ the emotional one, but I don’t think so.”

“She makes you happy, huh?” Eren pressed on, nudging his foot against Mikasa’s insistently. She refused to meet his gaze when she answered.

“Yeah, she really does.”

“Good.” Eren said simply, turning back to his work. Only then did Mikasa look at him again, confident that he wouldn’t see how flustered the topic made her. He didn’t look up as he spoke again, just focused on the cup he was cleaning out. “That’s all I ever wanted for either of us, you know?”

“I know.” Mikasa assured him instantly, stepping closer and settling a hand on his upper back. “I’m glad things ended up here. It sucked there for a while, but we needed to be on our own to realize what happiness looked like for each of us as individuals. I understand that now.”

“I missed you the whole time.” Eren said softly, dropping the cup back into the sink. He turned to her, biting his lip as he seemed to debate his words. Finally, he reached up and brushed the hair out of her eyes, just like he had so many times before. “I still love you, Mikasa, just not like that.”

“I know.” Mikasa nodded, smiling wide. “I love you too.”

“Best friends still?”

“Always.”

  
  


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